HEREFORD United player-coach Phil Robinson is looking forward to the coming season despite being sidelined by wrist surgery which will keep him out of action until October.

The 34-year-old is confident that the Bulls can compete with their big-spending rivals and mount a challenge for a top five play off slot.

"I am sure if we can keep up there and with the support and atmosphere we get at Edgar Street that we have a chance of grabbing one of those five places," he said.

Reflecting on last season, Robinson, believes the Bulls' FA Trophy cup run came at the expense of league form.

"At one point it was promising so much but I think the cup run detracted from our league form," he said.

"We took the decision to rotate the squad to make sure legs were fresh for cup games but may be that backfired in the league form and we had a couple of dodgy results, lost confidence and had a bad patch."

But Robinson believes the introduction of a new system of play offs will have a dramatic effect on the Conference, the Bulls included.

"For a lot of clubs by Christmas the interest can have gone but with this fifth place it means any club from halfway in the league still has a chance of getting in there," he said.

Robinson, who finished his UEFA A licence over the summer, would one day like to follow Graham Turner into club management or full time coaching.

"It is an ambition of mine to stay in football in either the coaching or management side of it," he said.

"I really enjoyed my first season as first team coach and am looking forward to getting stuck in and improving the team and working closely with Graham Turner."