GEORGE Rolls has dished out a sharp dose of reality by insisting that Weymouth FC are “no longer the premier non-League club in Dorset”.

The Terras’ chairman, who is renowned for telling it how it is, believes that mantle has now passed to local rivals Dorchester Town.

The admission came after Saturday’s 3-1 defeat against the Magpies when he also said that the club deserves to be in the position it finds itself in.

The Terras, who begin their Zamaretto Premier Division campaign at Halesowen on Saturday, have suffered back-to-back demotions over the past two seasons and with a 10-point deduction hanging over them this term the club’s primary objective is simply to stop the rot.

But with a tight playing budget that is easier said than done. Rolls said: “This season is all about consolidation and I have been pleased with the work Ian Hutchinson has done since he has been back at the club. He has unearthed a couple of gems and I am hoping we can now go on and have a reasonable season.

“The defeat against Dorchester at the weekend proved that we still need to bring some players in and there is money left in the budget to do that. Hopefully, we will be able to tie up a few more deals this week but the aim this season is just to stay up. If we ended the campaign fifth from bottom I would be happy and I would hope the fans would be too.

“For a long time Weymouth has spent out on big players but those days are over now. This season’s playing budget would only have paid for three of the higher-paid players’ wages when the club was in the Conference, so Hutch has a hard task but he does not moan about it and instead is just getting on with it.

“Dorchester’s playing budget is double ours and fans won’t like me saying this but we are where we are because we deserve it and we are no longer the premier non-League club in Dorset.

“However, the aim is to get that tag back as soon as possible but it is going to take time and the fans need to understand that and get behind us.

“I keep receiving emails from fans saying that the budget is not high enough. The only way that is going to change is by more supporters coming through the turnstiles.”

The loss against Dorchester brought the curtain down on Weymouth’s pre-season campaign, which in terms of results makes very grim reading with just two wins coming from eight games.

But Rolls is not too worried by that statistic and he has also insisted that decisions on the playing side are purely Hutchinson’s to make despite having brought Cameron Mawer down to the game with him at the weekend.

He added: “To be fair to Ian, he wants to stamp his own mark as manager. All I am doing is helping cement some of the deals.

“All I did on Saturday was bring down a player from last year, Cameron Mawer, who has been at Wrexham for the last six weeks. If we could sign him it would be a great move for us.

“We just need to build on things really. There is no pressure on Hutch whatsoever and as long as everyone at the club, including the staff, the players and the directors, give 110 per cent then that is all we can expect.

“As for pre-season, I don’t take much notice of results. It is all about getting the players fit and ready to go for the kick off. The important thing, with so many games coming in the first month of the season, is that we pick up as many points as possible early on because then that will give us confidence.”