Devonshire Cougars winger Lejuan Simmons believes that regardless of who wins the Charity Cup tomorrow night it is still too early to be putting the 'favourites' tag on any team.

FA Cup champions Cougars take on Premier Division champions Dandy Town at BAA Field with the winners lifting the first piece of silverware of the season.

National academy player Simmons, who has solidified his place in the Cougars first team, said it was far too premature to be talking up Cougars' chances of winning the championship, although he said the team was still smarting from the Hornets' drubbing of Cougars last term.

Town all but erased Cougars repeat chances with a 6-2 hammering of the then defending.

Simmons said: "The first game of the season is sometimes a difficult one as you have to get used to playing again, the work rate and so forth.

"As for Dandy Town, they are the champions and we want what they have.

"Obviously we want to win, but the main point will be to see how far we have come in our training and to work on a few things.

"They beat us last year 6-2 at St. John's Field, so we will be looking to avenge that a little bit, but the main thing will be to put in the final workouts before the real thing begins.

"The result won't have any bearing on the season apart from who is the first team to win some silverware."

Cougars started their pre-season preparations later than usual, but have since clocked in numerous hours at both the beach and on the training ground.

While admitting there are a few things that still need to be ironed out, Simmons is adamant the Big Cats possess sufficient quality and depth of talent to mount a challenge for every trophy this season.

"We started off a little late in terms of our pre-season but have really stepped things up in all aspects.

"Our fitness is coming along good and we're looking to play our style of football.

"We're almost ready in the fitness and mentally we're also prepared.

"This game will be a one to watch, we have some young guys coming into the team and have a good blend all around.

"Depth won't be an issue as we have players that are capable of filling in many roles."

Kick-off tomorrow night is at 8 p.m.