defence, despite a summer exodus of players which brought the club to the brink of folding.

That is the view of coach John Rebello, who after winning every trophy in the domestic game with Vasco, is relishing the challenge of building a new-look side this season.

Vasco haemorrhaged 16 players on transfer releases and signed only one -- striker Jamel Smith from North Village -- before the July 31 deadline.

Their severely depleted squad had dropped below the minimum 18 required for clubs to be allowed to participate in the First Division.

But the Bermuda Football Association rescued the club by bending the rules and lifting the late transfer restriction, which would have prevented any player signing after the end of July playing before November 15.

"If the BFA had not done that, we would have dropped out the league,'' said Rebello. "I think most people would agree this club has done a lot for Bermuda football and us dropping out would have been a bad thing.

"I want to thank (BFA general secretary) David Sabir and (BFA president) Neville Tyrrell for allowing us to stay in the league.

"All I can do is apologise to the other clubs for what happened. But we have been in the league 40-odd years and it's great we can carry on. The BFA did the same thing for Warwick, St. George's and Hotels and it's good that they did it for us too.'' Last season Vasco boasted an unbeaten league record as they cruised to their second successive title. And Rebello said the club could be in the running for more success despite the loss of players.

"People are already writing us off and it's true that we have a much smaller squad now,'' said Rebello.

"We lost a lot of players in terms of depth, but I'd say we only lost about four top quality players -- Kentoine Jennings, Ottis Steede, Ascento Russell and Tafari Outerbridge.

"We've picked up some good players too. Albert Caisey is an ex-national team player. Then there's Kumar Smith. The public may not know about him, but the players do. He's got a great shot. Then there's Jermaine Belboda and Jemal Smith.

"We still have a championship team, but how things go depends on how quickly they gel and how many injuries and suspensions we get.

"Now we're facing a new challenge because in the last seven years, we've not had a lot of players coming in and after a few years players start to get into a comfort zone. Now we have to build a team that wants to win and take that enthusiasm and make the side gel.'' Despite the exodus, Vasco have hung onto many of the regular first-teamers who guided them to the title last season. National team stars Meshach Wade, Clifford Roberts and Timmy Figureido are all still with the Portuguese club.

Rebello himself almost quit after the last campaign, but then decided to stay on to see the club through a transitional period.

Herbie Bascome, described by Rebello as possessing "one of the most talented minds in football'', will be sharing the coaching duties with him.

Rebello, the most successful coach in Vasco's history and the youngest to win the league and FA Cup double, was not specific about how long he intended to stay coach..

"I am a club man and one thing I can say is that as long as the club wants football I'll help however I can,'' he said.