CHRIS Herbst is not feeling the pressure of continuing Bridport’s upward trend and insists a top-six finish is realistic for the Bees in 2023/24.

Herbst will lead Bridport’s first team for his maiden full season, having succeeded Edgar Marcu in October 2022.

He took the Bees from bottom of the league into 11th by the end of the campaign and is now tasked with continuing Bridport’s resurgence.

Last season was Bridport’s best since 2019, leading to popular opinion that Herbst has the Bees on the right path following their relegation to Step 6.

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Speaking to the Bridport News, Herbst does not feel any extra pressure to perform after his excellent start.

He said: “I don’t really look at it like that.

"I just think we’ve got a clean slate and if we perform like we did last year, if everyone pushes in the right direction and we have a good pre-season, it’s all right.

“I don’t really feel the pressure. People will say we should be doing this, or should be doing that.

“I don’t really listen to that. We know what we’re expecting to do and what our aims are, so I’m quietly confident.”

Asked what his targets are for 2023/24, Herbst replied: “It’s definitely a minimum of top six. We have to improve on last year.

“I’d like to say we’d win the league but it’s not going to happen. My aims are realistic, if we can get top six or top eight I’d be happy with that season.

“Then, we’ve just got to keep going from then on.”