First team Boss Gavin Rose speaks to the official website just before our first pre-season match at home to Dagenham & Redbridge on Tuesday 9th July

I hope you had a good summer, has the euphoria of last seasons finish died down yet? How hard was it to switch off and get back to business?

"Yes thanks, but it was a short break. The euphoria has long gone, to be honest. That's not discounting how great it was to get promoted, but if we dwell on the past the future can bite you on the bum. Two days after the season ended I was signing and meeting players, most of the hard work for me was done in those two weeks. I'm now focussed on the new season ahead."

Congratulations on your Manager of the Year award, to add to your three monthly ones, a shame Maidstone United picked up the Team of the Year,though personally I wouldn't swap that for our title!

"Thank you, the Manager of the Year award was really appreciated, but really it belongs to Junior (Kadi) and Kevin (James) with me, as a trio. I respect the fact that Maidstone got the team award, but the Championship trophy was more important than anything else."

And four of our boys were chosen for the divisional Team of the Year. About right, or should we have had more?

"I suppose it's all down to opinions, we're not at all the other games, and other players may do well in front of other managers, so they pick which ones they fancied on the day. but there's no doubt it's good to have so much representation in the selection, and it's four of ours for the second year in a row, so we're doing something right, and so are they,as players."

Clearly it will be a much higher standard in the Premier Division. You must be relishing the challenge, tell us about some of the new boys you've brought in.

"Well we have retained Dean Lodge, who came in at the back end of last season, so he's like a new signing really. in the same situation is Matthieu Boyer, again as good as a new player. I've added Gabriel Oduniake, who was with Crawley Down Gatwick, off the back of two good performances against us home and away last season, he can offer something different to what we had. There's also Paul Vines, the second time I will have worked with him, as he was with me when he was a bit younger and unproven, at Beckenham Town. His main qualities are he shows character, desire, and hunger. A good team player, who scores goals. Then there's Karl Beckford, from Lewes. a central midfielder, who can play attacking or defensive midfield. He will add experience and composure to the squad and has played at this level and above. I'm also looking at a few triallists, but it would be unfair to name them at this stage, I'll look at them over the next three games before making final decisions."

I'm chatting to you after one of the pre-season training sessions. For fans who might not realise how much hard work goes into the preparation, what do you do pre-season?

" For starters, it's hard work! Players have to come straight from a hard day at work, and train in the baking heat, like this morning. They have to be in the right shape for football. It's about conditioning, running, tactics and understanding. We go over what we expect, to have quality and be able to challenge. It is hard work and physically tiring, running in the sun and taking in information three times a week, on top of their day jobs. The hardest challenge for us is trying to organise a fluid session, as it's First Team squad, Reserve Team and triallists all together."

And Tuesday night is our first warm up match. Very attractive opposition, with Dagenham & Redbridge sending their first team. Obviously we want to give them a game, but how important are results at this stage?

"It would be silly for me to say that results are not important, but there's not so much significance with them at this stage. We will have strong players out, no matter how early in pre-season training it is. It's always good for the boys to get their match sharpness back, we will certainly take it seriously."

And up against Wayne Burnett, who tries to get his team playing 'proper football', like yourself. A bit of a compliment that they're coming to Champion Hill?

"Definately. Wayne's a good friend, who I've known for a few years. He leads by example, sticks by his ethics, which you can see by the way he carries himself as a person."

Clearly, with such a god team you've built it must be hard to stop other clubs sniffing around. Last summer our owner Nick McCormack had to reduce your budget, but I understand he has been able to offer some more funding this new season, and been very supportive. How much of a relief is that?

"I think the fact our budget was so low really made last season a massive achievement.It was an average budget for our division, to go up in that position. You would expect the team to have more money available, I think Nick and the Club realise if we didn't up the budget last season would have been a waste, as we wouldn't have had a chance to compete. Having said that, I've used some of the extra he has made available to pay some of our players a bit more, as they were way underpaid, as a reward for their loyalty and hard work."

I have to ask, as a 'natural born pessimist', my target as a fan is to get enough points on the board to stay up, and take it from there. Have you set yourself any targets?

"A minimum for me would be to remain in the division after so many years out of it. Of course I want to win every game, but that's not realistic. I want us to be competitive, and a mid table finish would be no disgrace, but naturally I would like to do more than that."

And the draws for the FA competitions are out. In the Cup we are at home to Dorking, Shoreham or Walton Casuals. On paper a very good draw, are you harbouring any thoughts of a Cup run?

"No! I've learnt in the four years I've been manager here not to think about the romance of the cup, not to get carried away and think of the finances, which can take your eye off the ball on the pitch. I will just treat it as a game we have to win and take it from there."

And in the Trophy we are at home to Harrow Borough, who we lost to at the same stage two seasons ago. Is it a chance for revenge? And to erase the defeat at Romford last season, for me the most disappointing performance of the year.

" Against Harrow two seasons ago we had no cutting edge, but matched them in performance, just not in the box. Players have changed now, I think it will still be a tough game, but one we are capable of winning."

And finally, the Youth Team have been drawn away to Fisher in the FA Youth Cup. They were a strong team last year, how hard will this one be for your ASPIRE Academy youngsters?

"I am sure it will be a tough one. Younger first years boys will make up a lot of our team, and I'm told that Fisher are a decent side. It will be a good local derby, but the main thing for us, is bringing them through."