Workington Reds are ready to get their league campaign under way and aim to kickstart another tilt at the Northern Premier League North West Division title this weekend.

They travel to face Pickering Town on Saturday in the first league game of the season and manager Danny Grainger is hoping to continue the side’s recent run of good form.

The Reds boss, who is entering his second season at the helm at Borough Park, feels it could be a challenging start.

“Everyone is looking for that strong start, to built on pre-season," he said.

“I haven’t heard any manager say they’ve had a bad pre-season.

“We know it’s going to be a tough game.

“Everyone is looking forward to the challenges ahead.”

The side will travel to the Neuven Stadium to face Radcliffe FC on Tuesday in the next round of the FA Cup and it is set to be another big test.

“We’re playing a team in a higher division," he added. "We’re going to go down there and give it a go. It’s going to be nice going down there knowing the pressure is on them.

“It’s not very often we go into games as the underdog.”

Dav Symington could be back in the line-up having recovered from injury.

“We’ll see if he’s good to go," Grainger said.

“It’s not just on the pitch that he brings something to the team.

"He keeps the dressing room alive.”

Reds performed well in pre-season, with comprehensive wins over Whitehaven AFC and Cleator Moor Celtic as the side did not concede a single goal in either game.

Workington later clinched a hard-fought 4-3 against Lancaster City. The side’s first FA Cup preliminary game last weekend brought a 3-1 victory over Knaresborough.