SWINDON Supermarine manager Dave Webb has thrown down his gauntlet to the rest of the Southern League West division by claiming his side are aiming for automatic promotion this season.

After narrowly missing out on the play-offs last season, Webb thinks it is time the club took a more ambitious approach.

With the club developing well off the field, the Supermarine manager thinks it is only fair their facilities are reflected by performance on the pitch.

“Play-offs was always the aim, but this year we are trying to set the bar a little bit higher than that,” said Webb.

“The facilities we have got now are probably some of the best in the division and the ground replicates a team who should be in the Premier Division as a minimum.

“That is a target. To some that may seem optimistic, but to me we have the capability in the squad now.

“The squad have been together for two or three seasons now and the players we have brought in are a high quality.

“I think a combination of those factors means we have to try and go for one of the two automatic spots available this year.”

While Webb has no qualms in stating his objective this season, he is still more than aware that there will be some stern tests for his troops in the coming year.

Webb also knows there will need to be a change in attitude and mentality from the players this year so they align with the club’s ambitions.

“Normally we would say to go for the play-offs, last year we finished sixth in a league with Hereford and Salisbury in,” he added.

“Obviously Hereford have gone now, but there are still some good teams in the division this season.

“We said to the players on day one when they came back from pre-season that they needed to be in a mentality to get out of the division.

“It’s a little bit different this year, it will take a lot of effort but I think we are more than capable of achieving it.

“The chairman has put an infrastructure in place which is second to none so now it is time we pushed on and tried to get promotion.”