GARY Whild has said Kidderminster Harriers will be going all out to stun title favourites Grimsby Town in Saturday's Vanarama National League opener.

The visitors to Aggborough this weekend (3pm ko) are one of the favourites for automatic promotion after being edged out in the play-off spots in May.

Harriers are braced for a big crowd, with the Lincolnshire outfit selling 1,450 tickets by Wednesday.

While the Reds have had their budget cut in half, the manager feels he's put together a more than competitive squad.

The club has had a summer of transition with new chairman Rod Brown urging fans to be realistic about the team's chances.

“The chairman has been transparent and honest but you don’t start the season aiming for fifth from bottom," said Whild.

“Last season we got off to a good start, everybody was saying it was the best for years, and we’ll trying to emulate that and there’s no better and bigger test than the favourites for the league.”

The Kidderminster boss has fine tuned his squad over the last seven days, securing goalkeeper Dean Snedker and wideman Adam Dawson for the season.

Left-back Rob Taylor is set agree on a non-contract basis, while highly-rated West Bromwich rookie Andre Wright has joined on a youth loan to bolster Harriers' forward options until January 2.

Whild was quick to thank fans who have bought nearly 600 season tickets, which allowed him to stretch his budget.

He added: “The support from the spectators in terms of season tickets has been great because that’s probably allowed us to bring in one or two more players which makes us more competitive.

“The message has gone out from the club and the fans have embraced that.

“We feel we've been able to put a competitive squad together.”

Harriers, who visit Dover Athletic on Tuesday night (7.45pm ko), are opening the doors of Aggborough to juniors between 2pm and 4pm today for a training session.

l Fans can follow all the action from the Grimsby clash with The Shuttle's live match updates from 2pm.