Newly-promoted Sutton Coldfield Town will be out to make a statement today, Workington Reds boss Derek Townsley has warned.

The West Midlands club will be aiming to land a huge scalp when they travel to Borough Park today (3pm ko) for the first match of the 2015/2016 Evo-Stik Premier Division.

Reds will be viewed by many people as one of the teams to beat this season after they came close to securing promotion back to the National North in the last campaign.

Bookies have installed Workington as third favourites to win the league behind Salford City and Darlington 1883.

Sutton Coldfield were promoted from the First Division South last season after progressing through the play-offs.

However, Townsley won’t be underestimating the league’s new boys.

He said: “They are new to the league and will be keen to make a statement against ourselves on the first day.

“They lost some players over the summer but have brought players in who will be keen to make a good impression.

“We are ready to go. We have done all our preparation and hopefully we can get off to a good start.”

Townsley is pleased with how his squad has shaped up over pre-season. Goalkeeper Alex Mitchell and midfielders James Earl, Rob McCartney and Joe McGee have all been added to the squad.

“We got Joe in which is a big plus,” Townsley said. “Hopefully he will be a big player for us. We haven’t got a big squad but I am happy with the players we have got.”

Townsley also praised new skipper Gari Rowntree, who has taken over the armband from Dan Wordsworth after he left in the summer to backpack across Australia and Asia.

He said: “He leads by example, is a good lad and is popular with the players. In many ways that was an easy decision.”

Townsley will have a full squad to choose from for today’s game, barring any last-minute injuries.

Workington Reds Juniors will sponsor the match, with players, parents and coaches due to go to the game to cheer on the senior team.