TREVOR Senior believes his Bridport side can kick off the season in positive fashion after they were handed a favourable start to the 2010/11 season.

The Bees open their Toolstation Western League Division One campaign at home to Bradford Town on Saturday, August 7 before travelling to Elmore three days later.

And boss Senior said: “It seems the league has been much more sensible with the fixtures this season, with shorter distances to travel for midweek matches.

“We have a good chance to get some good results early on, as I definitely think we could have had a worse set of fixtures to start the season with.

“The first game of the season is always tough, and Bradford did the double over us last season so it will be up to us to show them that we are now a stronger team.

“We went to Hengrove Athletic on the first day of last season and could quite easily have got a win under our belt. I’m sure teams will give us respect because they know we can play good football.”

Other eye-catching showdowns include a visit to league newcomers Merthyr Town on October 9 and a local derby against Chard Town at St Mary’s Field on December 27.

Coincidentally, Bridport bring the curtain down on the campaign at home to Dorset foes Gillingham Town – just as they did to end last season.

* See today's Echo for the full list of fixtures.