IT WAS only a decade ago that Marco Nott formed a Sunday League team called Balti House.

Now, under the new name of Balti Sports, Nott’s side are gearing up for life in Dorset football’s top tier.

After a meteoric rise through the divisions, the Cranford Avenue-based side now rub shoulders with the likes of Hamworthy Recreation, Merley Cobham Sports and reserve teams from Weymouth and Bridport.

And Balti boss Nott finds it hard to comprehend the rapid progress that has been made in such a short space of time.

“We started as a Sunday pub team eight years ago and we’ve done it the hard way,” he said.

“We began right at the bottom and have gone all the way up through the leagues.

“It’s been an unbelievable achievement and I never thought we would get this far.

“Playing in the Dorset Premier League is a very exciting prospect and something completely different for the club.

“It’s going to be a lot more professional by the looks of it and it will certainly be a step up for us.

“We’re going to have to be on our game every week just to compete and if we could finish in mid-table that would be great.

“We’re going to be happy to find our feet in the league this season.”

Despite promotion from the Dorset Senior League last term, Nott has lost the services of several key players, including strikers Grant Chance, Carl McClements, Nathan Aston and Doug Beveridge.

But, Balti have brought in Sammy Nichols, Charlie May, Danny Andrews, Ashley Batchelor, Josh Burton and Simon Proffitt, while Nott has added Chris Hicks and Stuart Suggs to his coaching team.

One other change over the summer was made to the club’s name.

With the league officials not keen on a club featuring a sponsor in their name, Balti Sports was eventually chosen as an alternative to Balti House.

“We didn’t want to completely lose the identity of the club,” added Nott. “We were given a few suggestions but we came up with Balti Sports and it stuck. It will still take a bit of getting used to.”

Balti get their season underway at Merley on Saturday (3pm).