CLUB chairman Robin Satherley believes there is an “air of excitement” around Portland United, as they prepare to kick off as a Sydenhams Wessex League club once again.

The Blues, last in the Wessex League in 2005-06, will return to Division One this season after a spell of nine years in the Dorset Premier League, in which they won the title four times.

With the hard yards being put in both on and off the field to ensure their step up goes smoothly, Satherley is looking forward to beginning a new era.

“There is no doubt about it, there is an air of excitement at Grove Corner,” he told Echosport.

“We look forward to re-joining the Wessex League after a gap of nine years. I can tell there is a bounce in everybody’s step.

“There was a little bit of staleness which crept into the club, but having said that, we have not been letting the grass grow under our feet. We have been getting in a much more healthy financial position than we were a few years ago.

“Although it may appear that we have not been moving up the football ladder in recent times, we have spent a lot of time getting our finances in order.

“We are going to be faced with a fairly large travel bill. On that scale we have to make sure we have the finances for that but we have worked hard and it should be well coverable.”

Work at Grove Corner in the close season has been intense in getting ready for promotion.

That includes the installation of new floodlights, which have been funded through grants from the Football Stadia Improvement Fund as part of the Football Foundation and the Football Association National Sports Centre Trust.

Satherley added: “As anyone will see if they make the visit to the ground a lot of work has been done.

“Only in the last few weeks we have had a complete set of new floodlights installed and both sets of stands have been upgraded and painted.

“The whole ground looks as good as I have seen it for a long time.”

With applications to enter the FA Vase and FA Cup having to be submitted back in April, the Blues were still unsure as to the status of their floodlights at that time so will not feature in those competitions this term, but will continue to feature under their new lights in the Dorset Senior Cup.

Improvements to the club’s home also means that Portland start their campaign with a run of four away fixtures throughout August, which the island chairman realises made sense when the league fixtures were released.

Satherley added: “We had to make allowance for the fact that the floodlights and the work on the stands may well have been going on into August. So in hindsight, we can understand that the Wessex League decided with us that we had four away fixtures.”

The Blues’ first home game comes on Saturday, September 5, against AFC Stoneham and manager Gary Bailey is looking forward to a challenge both he and his squad are relishing.

He added: “I am really confident in the players I have got and the backroom staff I have around me. I will back them to the hilt. I think if we perform and keep people fit then there is no reason why can’t go out there and hold our own.

“It’s a squad game and everyone is going to be needed throughout the season.

“Ross Carmichael is a big player for us. Getting Alex Halloran and Ross Doidge both back and fit is big because they are the lads that will pull the strings.

“Gareth Will has really impressed me as well since he has come in, he is full of energy and we hope he carries that on going into the league season.

“Carl McClements and Alex Godfrey will add a different dimension up front and Lewis Whyton, the club captain, is pivotal to us being successful.”

Sponsorship wise, the Blues have also made a fresh approach to the 2015-16 campaign by paying a fitting tribute.

“This year our main sponsor has taken a slightly different format to what we have always done,” Satherley added. “On our first-team shirts will be the Three Ells Trust. This is in memory of our former club solicitor David Naerger.

“It is very close to the hearts of the club and we wanted to put something back into the community. We are very pleased with the sponsorship we continue to get from firms in the community, who continue to give us excellent sponsorship and backing. Without their support there would be no Portland United FC."