Grantham on red alert as Rebels boss demands victory

FC United of Manchester manager Karl Marginson reckons he's raring to go with the Rebels preparing for the start of another promotion hunting campaign at Grantham on Saturday, writes Andy Walker.

"Personally, I can’t wait for the season to start," said United’s manager ahead of the long trip south on the opening day of the Evo-Stik NPL Premier Division season.

"The players are buzzing and I know our supporters are too. There’s nothing like the first game of the season and we’re looking forward to a large following making the trip down to Grantham to cheer us on."

The FC United manager, pictured, believes his side are ready to mount a promotion challenge again after a tough preseason that saw them tested by a number of League sides.

He said: "I’m delighted with where we are coming into the new campaign. In pre-season we deliberately pitted ourselves against higher grade teams and that highlighted some of the areas that we needed to work on. I’m confident that our preparations will stand us in good stead for the new season."

Despite losing May's play-off final to Bradford Park Avenue, Marginson says United still ended the season on a high and hopes they can take that form into the new campaign.

"Towards the end of last season we were playing some of the best football we’ve ever played and I’ll be looking to continue that when we kick off against Grantham," said the manager.

"There are areas we need to improve in - we finished the season as second top scorers but we also conceded 51 goals which is too many. Playing those professional League teams has helped to make the players aware that little mistakes will get punished so it was important preparation for what will be another tough campaign."

Marginson insists the club is aiming for a play-off place again at the very least and knows a winning start could be key to their hopes.

"To do better than last year we need to be in the mix come April and hopefully we can go one better than we did last season. Getting points on the board early will be crucial. Playing Grantham will be tough. We’ve never played them before and the long journey south will be a trip into the unknown for us but my players are confident and will be totally focused on getting us that good start to the season that we all want."