A COUPLE of good cup runs and a top-10 finish is Adrian Scadding’s wish this season at St Mary’s Field.

The club chairman has been very impressed with the progress the Bees have made under boss Trevor Senior in recent seasons and he is hoping this one could be the best yet.

Scadding said: “With the bad weather we had last season we never really got going but hopefully this year will be much better.

“We had a good pre-season and it has been great to see players like Sam Charles coming back to fitness after a long spell out injured.

“A lot of people are saying this is the best squad we have had for 15 years so I am confident it is going to be a good campaign.

“If we can do well in the FA Cup and the FA Vase, and finish in the top 10 in the league, I will be more than happy.

“We haven’t had a good run in the cups for a while so it would be nice to change that this season.”

The constant weather disruptions also made 2012-13 a difficult year off the pitch but it appears the club is now back on a solid footing.

Scadding added: “I am hoping we will get a lot better crowds this season and I am sure we will.

“Because last season was so inconsistent people got out of the habit of coming out on a Saturday to watch us but hopefully that will be different this year.

“We have no pitch issues whatsoever and as long as we do not have the heavy downpours we had last winter everything should be fine.

“We have got plenty of functions lined up in the club to keep the money coming in and if the team performs as we hope we should be in for a great season.”

The Bees lost 4-3 against heavyweights Larkhall Athletic in their opening Toolstation Western Premier Division game last weekend. Darren Watts gave them the lead direct from a corner, the Larks levelled, but goals from Ryan Dovell and Tom Richardson either side of the break put the hosts in command.

However, their opponents pulled one back from the penalty spot, made it 3-3 courtesy of a Jamie Filkins own goal and then grabbed a winner after Richard-son had been sent off.

Filkins put the Bees in front against Sherborne Town on Tuesday night but two strikes from long throw-ins in the last 20 minutes saw the visitors claim the three points.

Up next on Saturday is a trip to Hengrove Athletic in the FA Cup extra preliminary round (3pm) – the winners will earn £1,500 and a home tie against Merthyr Town in the next round.