By vice-chairman Ian Ridley

THIS time last year, we at Salisbury FC were preparing to play our first competitive match, not knowing what to expect.

Would the crowds turn up for Wessex League football? Was our squad strong enough to win the title, as was our aim? Would our business plan work given that we were in an expensive stadium with a lot of overheads?

After a difficult first two games, when we drew and lost, the answers, as the season unfolded, proved to be yes, yes and yes. The title was duly won and the bonus was a semi-final appearance in the FA Vase, with a Ray Mac record crowd of 3,450 for our home leg.

All at Salisbury FC - supporters, players, staff and our amazing volunteers - had proved they had what it takes. And the commercial community recognised it by voting us a finalist in the new business section of the South Wilts Business Awards, of which we were very proud.

We showed we were made of The White Stuff.

In many ways, the new club got its first season free as we rode a wave of goodwill and euphoria at the return of football in the city after a year without a club.

Now it gets harder, now expectations increase, as they will the higher the club seeks to go. We are in the Evo-Stik Southern League Division One South and West with a clutch of clubs used to the level. And newbies like ourselves in the mighty Hereford, with whom we had those epic Vase games last season.

Fortunately, we believe we have kept pace and developed. Off the field, Amanda Newbery is proving a tireless and talented chief executive who is making the club that bit more professional with each passing month.

Fans will notice this season the new Magnet Sports Bar, which we also hope to open on midweek nights for the residents of Old Sarum and beyond to watch Champions League football on a big screen.

On the field, supporters will also notice quality new signings such as Justin Bennett, a Salisbury boy and proven goalscorer, who has been banging them in at Conference South level with Gosport Borough, and Lewis Benson, who has been a pre-season star, from Andover Town.

Justin could have gone elsewhere for more money but admirably chose his home-town club because he saw the potential of the new club here and wanted to work with a dedicated, shrewd manager in Steve Claridge who - don't tell the bigger boys - is certainly capable of operating at a much higher level, we have to admit. We remain lucky to have him.

As we step up our efforts and to a higher level of football, our principles and business ideas will not change, however.

We remain mindful of what happened to Salisbury City FC, who flew too close to the sun, and are determined to be cautious financially, balancing that with the ambition that supporters expect for the revenue they generate.

The aim has to be to increase our attendances and our commercial operation so that we can afford a better quality of player as we go on in order to get Salisbury FC to the highest level that can be sustained.

We could hardly have a tougher start, with Evesham United, who finished sixth last season, followed by away games at Winchester City and Taunton Town on Saturday, both of whom made the play-offs last season.

That is one thing in our favour this season - the play-offs. Last season we were under pressure to win the title to guarantee promotion. This year, there are two slots available, which will keep the interest going right to the end.

We're ready for the challenge, though. After all, everyone on and off the field at Salisbury FC has already shown what they are made of. And that is The White Stuff.