BlueSq South Latest news on the new Blue Square Premier, North and South season

Saturday's Blue Square Bet South Preview

Havant & Waterlooville enter the new Blue Square Bet South season as league favourites after missing out on the play-offs during the last campaign.

Woking and Dover Athletic, meanwhile are hotly tipped as runners-up with last season's relegated Blue Square Premier teams, Ebbsfleet United, also considered amongst the top sides to compete in the division this season.

Chelmsford City and Ryman champions Dartford have been given a fighting chance of taking the title with a number of teams, including Farnborough, Dover and Staines Town set to contest them at the top of the table.

Basingstoke Town boss Frank Gray is hopeful his new look side will be competitive this season with new goalkeeper Chris Tardif, centre-backs Jay Gasson and Ross Adams, holding midfielder Stuart Lake and striker Greg Draper all expected to add a much-needed steel to the side. Town face a revitalised Chelmsford side under Glenn Pennyfather, who is aware of the expectations his side face after finishing third last season only to miss out on promotion via the play-offs.

Braintree Town manager Rod Stringer is well aware that his side needs some work after lacklustre performances towards the end of their pre-season campaign and he will be looking for a much-improved performance against Farnborough on Saturday. Boro ended their campaign on a high but are wary of the threat posed by Stringer's charged with boss Steve King watching them in action in midweek.

Dorchester chairman Shaun Hearn has ambitiously set his sights on a top-six finish although supporters of the club may be slightly more realistic in their expectations. Boss Ashley Vickers is hoping he can reach his superior's target but knows it will take a unified effort from his side to ensure they get off to a positive start.

Bromley Town are Dorchester's first opponents - and they showed their credentials in pre-season by beating Blue Square Bet Premier side Crawley Town. Mark Goldberg's side have finished mid-table in the past few season's but it remains to be seen whether they can improve upon that when the new season kicks off.

New boys Dartford face a baptism of fire as they take on Havant & Waterlooville in their opening match.

The Darts will be without the suspended Elliot Bradbrook and Tom Champion and the injured duo of Charlie Sheringham and Tony Burman while Havant enter the match with concerns over their keeper after bringing in 22-year-old former Manchester City goalkeeper Richard Martin as short term cover for injured Nathan Ashmore.

Relegated Blue Square Premier League side Ebbsfleet United take on Maidenhead United with Fleet boss Liam Daish still tinkering with his side. He adds 19-year-old Northampton Town striker Joe Benjamin to his squad alongside goalkeeper Joe Hagan, who has made the step up from the youth system.

Marcus Rose and Tom Baddeley are missing for Maidenhead with new signings Steve Williams and Andrew Fagan expected to start.

Welling have high hopes of carrying their pre-season form into the league when they face Hampton & Richmond with the Wings winning their last five matches, scoring 18 goals. Boss Jamie Day will have to make do without Loick Pires, who looks set to miss three weeks with a swollen knee. He joins Lee Clarke on the injury list after the latter sustained a fractured cheekbone in last Saturday's 3-0 victory at Chatham Town.

Alan Devonshire has performed a major overhaul of the side that finished 14th in the league last season but believes he has a good blend of youth and experience. A good start for them will go some way to ensure they finish high up the league this season, with his first priority being to reach the 50 point mark point.

St Albans City manager Steve Castle is optimistic about his side's chances this season. He expects his side's poor end to their pre-season campaign to give them the shock lift they need before the big kick-off. The Saints get their campaign underway against Thurrock with Castle having a near full strength squad to choose from with only James Quilter's knee injury keeping him on the sidelines

Manager Hakan Hayrettin will be happy with his side's first test after mixed results this summer. A mid-table finish last year is a long way from their previous title aspirations, having been promoted in the 2004/05 season, and are not considered to be a position to repeat that feat this time around.

New Dover boss Martin Hayes is looking forward to picking up where Andy Hessenthaler left off, after Ian Hendon walked out of the job after just 18 days. The Whites finished second last season and with Hayes adding seven new players to the squad, he is confident he can improve on their previous finish.

But standing in his way on the opening day is Woking, who beat Dover home and away last season as well as in the play-off semi-final. Graham Baker's side is also vastly different from last season and although the manager would have liked to have kept more of his core from last season, he feels his side is fully prepared for the task at hand.

Staines Town enjoyed terrific success last season with an impressive FA Cup run and an 8th place finish following their promotion from the Ryman Football League. A good start from Steve Cordery's side may well catapult them to an early season run, especially as their opponents Lewes have struggled in pre-season. And coupled with their poor form in patches last season, that saw them finish 19th, means it is set up nicely for Town to live up to their early expectations.