WORCESTER City chairman Dave Boddy believes it is imperative the club makes a good start to their Blue Square South campaign.

City travel to Bognor Regis today for the first of two games in 48 hours, with St Albans City visiting for the first home fixture on Monday.

Attendances dwindled to as low as 574 at St George’s Lane last season and Boddy is hoping for a good result on the south coast to swell the numbers to around the 900-mark for the St Albans clash.

He said: “It’s always important we make a good start but even more so with our supporters.

“Over the past few seasons we have been judged on the opening couple of games. If they like what they see they will stick with us but if they don’t they have passed judgement for the season so it’s vital from that point of view we get off to a good start.”

The chairman has been buoyed by the pre-season performances of Richard Dryden’s team.

Although not setting any targets, he is quietly confident of City making an impression in the league over the coming months.

Boddy said: “I am really looking forward to it. A lot has been said about going south and I think it will certainly be a new challenge for us.

“I think we had become a bit stale in the north so I am looking forward to new teams, new grounds and meeting new people. I don’t think it’s fair to put expectations on the team but I think from what I have seen so far we look like we have a decent shape to our side.

“We have created chances and if we put them away we have got a good chance of doing well.

“If we get ourselves in the lower reaches in the first half-a-dozen weeks it’s difficult to really make a challenge from there.”