WEYMOUTH club captain Jake McCarthy has hailed the Terras’ unbeaten pre-season as a catalyst for a “great start” to life in the Vanarama National League South.

McCarthy, who is wearing the skipper’s armband in the absence of injured captain Josh McQuoid, has been a regular part of a Weymouth side that has risen to seventh in the standings after a number of impressive results.

The latest eye-catching scoreline saw the Terras beat last season’s defeated play-off finalists Welling 1-0, but McCarthy believes the Terras could be in a loftier position.

After a hectic opening to the season, which has included nine matches in 35 days, he told Echosport: “There’s been a lot of games in the first month but the boys have handled them well.

“All in all, it’s definitely been a great start. It’s off the back of a great pre-season – we were unbeaten. Coming into the season we’re full of confidence from that.

“To be honest, sitting seventh we’re really pleased but we should be higher up the league. We’ve had a couple of games we’ve drawn where (the opposition) have only really had one or two shots. You can’t look back now, but it’s been a positive start.”

McCarthy also spoke of the belief present in the Terras’ squad after winning promotion.

“We weren’t scared going into the league,” he said. “Getting promoted, we were told we were tipped to be second or third-bottom by a bookmaker.

“But what we’ve got in this changing room is more than enough to compete in this league and be up there come the end of the season.”