THE 2018/19 football season has begun, with the South West Peninsula League and Combination League both under way.

The SWPL Division 1 West kicks off this weekend, and Porthleven manager Alan Carey spoke to the Packet to preview the new season.

Last season

6th in SWPL Division 1 West

2017-18 in a nutshell?

I felt that really we were very close but I just felt that the injuries at the end were too much and we didn’t pick a settled side really in the last eight or nine games and it was at a crucial time.

It was a good season in as much that we were always there or thereabouts, we just failed at the end and I’ll put that down to the injuries more than anything, so it was still not a bad season.

Best match of last season?

I think probably winning away at Elburton, coming from a goal down to win 2-1. We weren’t that smart in the first half and Elburton had probably the better of the game, but then we came out second half and we completely dominated the game and it was just so good to see.

We scored late on to win it but it was just so good to see the lads all sticking in there and having that 'never die' attitude and it was a really good performance.

Worst match of last season?

St Blazey away in the Charity Cup. We just didn’t turn up. We didn’t turn up at all, we weren’t there, so that was a terrible performance by us. That was the worst performance of the year.

How has pre-season been going?

This pre-season has not been the best, we’ve had a lot of player issues, players being away through one thing or another, so it’s not been the best pre-season in terms of the games we’ve played.

Having said that the training sessions have been quite good, a quite good turnout and the lads are certainly fit we’ve seen that in the games we’ve played, we’ve looked good in the last 20 minutes.

How happy are you with your squad and your transfer business?

I think we’ve got a good squad of 18 players and I am very pleased with the squad because we’ve got some very good players.

We’ve lost a couple in Jared [Sims] leaving to go to live in Bristol. Jordan Adlard’s come in and he’s really bolstered up the midfield for us, we’ve got Ben Beesley coming across from Redruth to try his hand, he’s a big lump, he’s certainly a handful and he’s going to score goals. He’s going to put himself around and he’s going to be a threat, no doubt about that.

George Molcher has stepped up from the reserves and he’s outstanding, and then you’ve got young Jamie Greet on the edge now, he’s stepped up in pre-season and he’s looking like he’s going to force his way in so it’s all good really, I’m really pleased with it.

What are you most looking forward to about the new season?

I came to Porthleven with a view of getting them promotion and that’s what I’m looking for, I want to get them promoted. I want to get them back in the proper league where a club of this stature needs to be.

The club itself are ready for it, we’ve just got to do it on the pitch now and get them promoted.

We want to get promoted as high as we can, if we can’t win it we want to be second, if we can’t be second we want to be third.

We want to be there contesting all year, so I think that’s the main aim really, we’ve got to finish as high as we can.

What are your aims for the new season?

Well going to Penzance is always tough and we’re going there on a Friday night and they’re a much improved side.

I think there will be quite a large crowd so I think that will be a pretty good game to be involved in, I think that will be a tough game.

And of course we’re back in the Vase, we’ve got Torpoint at home so that’s a game that you’d really love to try and get through to the next round and then maybe get an away draw, and that would be really nice to maybe play a club that is outside of our area.

Who are you tipping for the title?

I think Penzance are very strong, I think St Blazey are very strong looking at the signings. We played Penzance already and they look a very good outfit to me.

I hear that St Blazey have made some quality signings so they’re going to be stronger. St Dennis are always a threat, I think Penzance will definitely shake things up.

Top scorer?

Well the lad [Dan] Jennings is always there or thereabouts, he won it last year. He’s always going to knock in 30 goals, he’s going to be close I think.