NEW Tadcaster Albion boss Jim Collis will welcome Carlton Town to Ings Lane in his first game at the helm of the Northern Counties East League division one side.

The vastly experienced local football manager, who became a serial trophy winner while in charge of Nestl Rowntree, is ready to tackle the challenge at the club which suffered a massive slump in form at the end of last season.

He said: "When I went down there, I was under the impression they didn't have many players. But from day one of training, I found out we had too many players. The training, headed by Andy Snell and Neil Smallwood, has been fantastic, and the result is we have had up to 40 players down there at a time.

"I've been trying to give everyone a game regardless of results during pre-season, which has meant the preparation has been knocked in a sense by the numbers. I've now settled on about 17 players, but there are still some I haven't had a chance to see, so I will be arranging a few friendlies to get a look at them."

Only a handful of familiar faces will be running out in Albion colours tomorrow with a host of new signings including Selby Town's Andy Cygan facing Carlton.

Added Collis: "I'm told it's one of the better teams but I'm going in optimistic and hopefully we can start off with a win."

Pickering Town are looking to mount another top-four charge this season, starting with a trip to unknown quantity Shirebrook.

"We are looking to progress from fifth place last year," said manager Steve Brown. "It's going to be a long, hard season and we will have to show a lot of character and commitment to do it, but I don't see why we can't.

"We are hopeful rather than confident, but there is a good spirit and people are more optimistic than last year."

Coming in to the Pikes fold from last season are former Harrogate Town men Michael MacNaughton and Chris Hudson, Tom Reid from Goole, and youngster Brian Dutton returns after a stint at Cambridge United.

The squad has also been bolstered by Dale Waddington and Lee Pallender graduating through the reserve set-up, while Seb Towers will be looking to make his mark in the coming weeks after impressing Brown while playing parks football.

Alex Willgrass continues to serve a suspension picked up late last season and will miss tomorrow's big kick-off, while Dutton is struggling with a groin strain and Matthew Morton and Tom Adams also missing.

Updated: 11:14 Friday, August 20, 2004