OXFORD City Stars head coach Simon Anderson believes he has assembled a side which can surpass the achievements of last season.

Stars made a surprise run to the National League South Division 1 play-offs in their last campaign, eventually losing out in the quarter-finals to Streatham Redskins.

Anderson believes that this season’s crop could go one better.

“I feel that overall I have built a strong team that can challenge at the right end of the table,” he said.

“The key will be our work ethic and team spirit, which we will need to ensure remains at the highest level for the whole season.

“Our target as an absolute minimum is to emulate last season, but it won’t be easy – every team has strengthened and I think this will be the most closely contested league I’ve ever seen.

“This will lead to a very entertaining season for the fans and I cannot wait for it to start.”

Anderson has secured a number of high-profile signings during the summer, including Finnish defenceman Joonas Liimatainen, Great Britain Under 18s assistant captain Ben Nethersell and the experienced Dominic Hopkins.

But Anderson believes his biggest coup has been to retain the services of some of Stars’ top performers from last season.

He said: “At the end of the last campaign I knew that we would need to keep the core of that squad together no matter what.

“We had such a great group of guys and our spirit and buy-ins were key ingredients to our successful season.

“Thankfully I have been able to keep every guy that I wanted to keep, and I’m so pleased about that.

“Players like Alan Green, Darren Elliott, Andy Cox and Dax Hedges were vital as these guys were the heartbeat of the team from a local player perspective.”