JAMES Coutts is confident the Magpies can prosper this season, but has urged fans not to expect “too much, too soon”.

The midfielder’s arrival at the Avenue Stadium last January coincided with an impressive run of form that saw the Magpies lose just one game in nine.

In the end, after another relegation dogfight looked on the cards, Dorchester finished the campaign eight points clear of the bottom three.

The bookmakers are tipping a year of strife for the county town outfit but Coutts, although keen to avoid high expectations, has faith in the players around him.

He said: “Some people seem to think we’re one of the favourites to go down. We haven’t got the biggest budget in the league but when you look at the players we’ve got there is a lot of experience.

“Kevin Hill played 500-odd games for Torquay United, Kyle Critchell is a Football League player while a lot of the other lads have played in the Conference National or the Conference South and know what this level of football is about.

“Therefore, we won’t be in awe of anyone we face this season and we certainly won’t fear anyone.

“We have got an excellent squad and a really good team spirit, which is what Ashley Vickers has been working on.

“No one in the squad thinks they are big-time, we all get on really well and that is really important.

“We had a great end to the season last year and we have improved in some of the pre-season friendlies, so we’re all looking forward to the new season and that first game at Bromley.”

The 23-year-old, one of eight – pending Stuart Douglas’ imminent signature – former Terras in the Dorchester squad, is anticipating a highly competitive league.

Although confident in the ability of his team-mates, Coutts is keen to avoid making any bold predictions.

He added: “One thing about this league is that everyone can beat anyone. It’s all about consistency. If we have a good start to the season and keep a clean bill of health then you never know what can happen.

“I just don’t want people to be expecting too much, too soon. This is Ash’s first full season in management so it’s going to be a learning curve for him.

“The main aim for us is to consolidate and try to progress at the same time. I don’t want expectations to be too high, but having said that I don’t want to think we can’t do anything because you just never know.”