Deal Town manager Darren Anslow believes the club’s supporters must take a reality check ahead of Saturday’s opening game in the Southern Counties East League.

As Anslow prepares his squad for the trip to Croydon, for what will be his first competitive match in charge after succeeding Paul Murray at the end of last season, he said:“Everybody has got to accept that even at this level, players chase the money and we haven’t got the budget to compete with a lot of other clubs.

“Let’s be honest, Deal is the last stop on the line, with a small catchment area and it means that high calibre local players are likely to join one of the Ryman League clubs rather than us. Yes, Deal won the Vase in 2000 but we had the budget to do it then.

“People have got to have a bit of a reality check and accept where we are at the moment.

“We’ve got to find young players and mould them into the way we want to do things, plus picking up one or two older, experienced players along the way but you can’t possibly do that quickly, especially after the disjointed pre-season campaign that we’ve had.”

Anslow is facing injury problems ahead of the first game.

Grant Bagley (hamstring) and Dan Miller (ankle) are both ruled out, while Andy Miller (knee) is only 50-50 and new boys Gio Fullone and Jordan Clark are both unavailable.

Deal fans will get their first chance to see Anslow’s new-look side at home to Rochester United on Tuesday. (7.45pm).