JUBILANT Trevor Senior received confirmation of Bridport’s promotion and then targeted a top-half finish in the Toolstation Western League Premier Division.

Senior was informed last Friday morning that Oldland Abbotonians had been denied elevation after failing to meet the required ground standards and that the Bees would instead take their place in the top-flight.

The West Dorset outfit’s promotion marks the end of a six-year stint in Division One, a period that has seen the club rebuild and adopt a philosophy of nurturing young, local talent.

And boss Senior believes the infrastructure is already in place for Bridport to become a force to be reckoned with in the higher tier.

Speaking to the Bridport News, he said: “It’s a step up and we will be wary of that. But we can only go on what we’ve seen, and we’ve shown in the past that we can compete against teams in that division.

“We’ve played quite a few cup matches against them over the last couple of seasons and have fared really well, beating the likes of Dawlish, Larkhall and Brislington.

“We know we can do it but there is a difference between doing it in a one-off cup game and consistently throughout a season. It’s going to be a new experience, but it’s one everybody is looking forward to.

“I’m not going to rest on my laurels and say we have got enough talent and depth in the squad to be okay. If we can create more competition for places then great.

“When I was at the club 10 years ago we had a good hard-working squad and finished eighth in the Premier Division a couple of times.

“If anything I think we have more talent now but the key to the previous squad’s success was the fact that they ground out results. That’s something we’ll have to do.

“We can’t just stand still, we have got to be aiming for a top-half finish and I’m confident we’ll prove to people that we deserve to be in this division.”

Senior is due to discover next week what his playing budget will be for the 2011/12 season – but he has already received positive news from Sam Filkins, a real star of the promotion campaign.

As revealed last week, Filkins’ future was in doubt because of potential university commitments, but the goalkeeper has told Senior he wants to remain at the club.

The Bees’ chief added: “Sam texted me to say he wants to play for us next season even if he is at university. He wants to travel back for weekends.

“I’ve had one or two people from outside the club show an interest in next season. A lot of the current players are having a bit of time off but nobody has said they are leaving and that’s very important.”