Pershore Town boss Danny Janes has not shied away from his target of winning the league title in his first full season at the helm.

The Plums kick-off their 2022/23 Hellenic League Division One campaign this weekend at home to Janes' old club, FC Stratford.

Having arrived in November, Janes and his coaching team transformed the Plums into a winning machine and they only just missed out on promotion, losing to Worcester Raiders in the semi-final of the play-offs.

And, ahead of their opener, Janes had made the target for the team very clear... win the title.

"Our objectives and standards for this season are very demanding, myself and Tom always back our teams to challenge and we thrive on pressure," said Janes.

"We want to challenge for the league this season, I'm not going to play it down like other managers and deflect from the topic, we want to win this league, but to do that we have to deliver.

"Our success last season means that teams will want to beat us, they will raise their game and performance levels.

"I have no doubt that the FC Stratford team talk will consist of what we achieved last year and that they want to take three points off us in the first game.

"Their young players will be hungry, they are in the shop window and I'm sure they all want to progress, that hunger makes them dangerous.

"We must start fast and dictate the game, controlling proceedings in and out of possession.

"The players understand how we want to approach the game tactically, it's about individuals playing to their potential and executing our principles.

"If we don't reach those levels, FC Stratford will cause us problems."

Pershore have done well to hold onto the majority of the squad that won three cup competitions in the 2021/22 season, but did lose two key members in Jake Cavens to Malvern Town and Matt Nutt to North Leigh (Step 3).

But they have recruited well, in particular with the re-signing of Josh Willis and current England Deaf captain, Jamie Clarke up front.

Having had a productive summer on and off the pitch, Janes is now confident his side have the minerals to go and achieve their goal of winning the league.

"We have enjoyed an intense and productive pre-season," added Janes.

"We completed our business early, the squad have been together for a few weeks now and there is a fantastic atmosphere amongst them."