Although their league season doesn’t start until August 4, St Albans City face their first competitive game of the year on Monday when they go to Hertford Town in the Herts Charity Cup – and manager Ian Allinson wants to win it.

Saints have struggled in county competitions in recent years and it was the Blues who knocked them out of the Senior Cup last season.

And Allinson says it’s time they changed their fortunes.

“I want to start winning things for this club and it starts on Monday,” he said. “I don’t want to go out in the early rounds, I want to be in and around it and maybe we can win a trophy for the supporters.

“Whether it is the Charity Cup, the Senior Cup or whatever, we need to start putting trophies on the table because I feel we’ve got a squad here that could be the best we’ve had in terms of mentality, in terms of quality and in terms of power, strength and pace.

“We can have all that if we gel as a group. If we become individuals then we’ll end up like we did last year.”