Boulevard talisman Takeyhi Walker and Ajani Gibbons have assured their supporters they will have a team in this season's Premier Division after mounting speculation that they could fold.

They also revealed that former Southampton Rangers coach, Albert Smith, has joined Blazers in a coaching capacity and had been helping prepare the team for their Dudley Eve opener against PHC next week.

Walker, who played for Bermuda Hogges this summer, said Smith had not yet made a decision on whether to be the club's permanent coach.

"Between myself and Ajani, we have been getting the team sorted out and ready to begin training and so forth," he said.

"Ajani and Albert Smith have been taking training sessions and we are looking toward our first game, which will be the Dudley Eve.

"Albert has taken an important role in giving us some structure and putting some type of game plan together, although he hasn't said he will be our coach permanently."

Walker's Hogges team-mate, Gibbons, admitted that the team almost disbanded during the pre-season due to the amount of players who jumped ship.

"We weren't going to have a team with all our players leaving but we have managed to get a squad that's capable of competing and giving a good showing of ourselves," Gibbons said.

"Many people have said this and that about us, but we're out training and going about our business as we should."

Boulevard's mass exodus has seen Hopte Burrows, Aaron Williams, Drewonde Bascome, Keimo Bean, Dion Stovell, Wolde Place, Philip Parsons, Chae Simmons, Jamel Warren, and Ian Coke all leave the 2008-9 FA Cup winners.

But the club are no strangers to adversity. They found themselves in the precarious position of being kicked out of the league last season had they not met Bermuda Football Association's (BFA) deadline to find a place to called home.

Before getting permission to use St. John's Field, Blazers had failed in their attempts to persuade either St. David's or St. George's to share their pitches.

The club then used BAA Field for the second half of the season after Dandy Town no longer permitted them to use their facilities.

To make matters worse, their esteeemd coach Andrew Bascome then walked out following a row over player commitment, with the side leading the Premier Division and in the final of the Dudley Eve.

He later returned to help out until the end of the season but by then Blazers had all but faded into the distance in all competitions.

Yet, with a new season comes new optimism, and Walker believes the side can still make an impact this term.

"We have had a couple of games under our belt, worked out a few things and are preparing ourselves for the beginning of the season. From how things went last year, we expect to come back strong but a lot of people are writing us off.

"Supposedly we don't have a team, although it was a task in getting everyone on the same page.

"We lost some players but we do have a team, and our expectations are to come out strong and show everyone that we are here to play."

Blazers will kick-off the new campaign without Walker who is still struggling with a hamstring injury.

The burly striker missed much of last term, and the beginning of the Hogges' Premier Development League (PDL) campaign because of a knee injury.

He said: "I won't be able to contribute until I get over my hamstring injury which will take some time, but other than that we are okay."