FC Isle of Man kick off their fourth campaign in the English non-league pyramid on Saturday evening when they face Chadderton at the Bowl.

Paul Jones’s Ravens have had an encouraging pre-season with encouraging performances against Conference North outfits Brackley Town, Radcliffe and Chester who sit three steps above the islanders in the league pyramid.

The latter two teams featured in the FCIoM’s inaugural summer festival of football last weekend, the islanders losing 5-2 to Chester on Friday evening before drawing 3-3 with Radcliffe on Sunday.

Following that Jones said: ‘It was a great weekend of watching some decent teams battle it out. We’ve got some much out of it as a club, a squad and a management team.

‘It’s been a really good test for everyone involved. It’s the same game in terms of the rules that we play, but it’s a different game in terms of the speed and some of the quality on show. It’s fantastic for all of us to get to test ourselves and identify areas in which we can develop and hopefully bring that into what we do this season.’

Looking ahead to the club’s return to competitive action, Jones added: ‘We’re looking forward to playing in front of the Conspiracy [Ravens’ fans] on Saturday.

‘It’s something that everyone is looking forward to and I really hope that this playing group can show how much they have come on right from the start of this season.

‘That will take the backing of our loud and proud supporters though, so hopefully we get them in good numbers on Saturday night.

‘The league is going to be very, very competitive and all of the teams are making sure they have the best squads possible to really have a push this season and we want to be up there.

‘It’s about re-establishing who we are and not resting on our laurels.

‘We want to be as high up that league as we possibly can and we’ll do that by focussing on being better. Where that is at the end of the season, we shall see.

‘Every player in the group can be better and needs to be working to do that. The team can improve and we have to keep working hard to achieve that. We have big ambitions this season, but our focus is being as good as we can be week in and week out.’

The Manx side will be looking to kick on from last season’s ninth-place finish in the North West Counties Premier Division, which saw them finish eight points shy of a promotion play-off place.

It’s a quick turnaround for the Ravens who are back in action on Tuesday night when they travel to Irlam on Tuesday for their first away game of the campaign. That will be followed by a home game against Longridge Town on August 10.