A SEASON of new beginnings draws nearer for St Helens Town and club captain Andy Gillespie is determined to fire the club up and out of North West Counties Division 1.

Striker Gillespie scored 34 goals last season to claim the league’s top goalscorer award; but his team missed out on the play-offs by a single point.

With much of last season’s squad retained, a playoff push is a given, and if consistent, a greater prize could be on the cards.

Six new teams enter Division 1 for the 2016-17 season, expanding the competition to 22 teams.

Town will travel to one of those on the opening day, Carlisle City, which will provide a stern test.

Gillespie said: “The interesting thing with the new teams, you never know what they’re going to have or what they’re going to be like.

“They might have come from leagues where they have won a lot of games, but you don’t know how strong that league really is.

“I’m sure if they’ve won trophies in their old leagues then they’ll come up with a lot of confidence.

“I think they’re going to be lively, it’ll be interesting to see how we do against them because we come up against Carlisle City on the opening day who themselves are new and that’ll be a good test.”

Gillespie feels Town can have a productive season to replicate the post Christmas form that almost saw them claim a play-off place.

“I’d be very disappointed if we didn’t finish in the play-off positions as we were so close last year. If we play like we did towards the back end of last season, I don’t see why we can’t have a very successful season,” he said.

Gillespie knows how to find the back of the net, but as skipper it is his duty to look out for the team as a whole, not simply his own tally.

” On a personal level, I’d take 20 goals and 10 assists. I always look out for my team; it’s in their best interests and not just mine.

“I’m not a greedy striker and I never have been. I’m just as happy with an assist as I am a goal.”

With a new season to look forward to, as well as a new home back in StHelens on the way, everyone associated with Town can look forward to a new chapter in the club’s history.

Gillespie is the only current Town player who played at the Knowsley Road ground before its demolition in 2010.

Six years is a long time to spend at one club these days and is quite some feat, especially at this level.

Throughout this time Gillespie has racked up 118 appearances and scored 60 goals, which ranks him as Town’s sixth all-time leading goalscorer.

Before leaving Knowsley Road six years ago, Town averaged crowds of 80 or 90 people, a far cry from the stadium’s 18,000 capacity. Gillespie described his experience of playing at the famous old ground.

“It was big and it was empty, I remember when I used to be on the pitch and people were shouting and it used to echo around the whole ground. If the ball went to the top of the stand, someone had to run round and get it.”

The club are scheduled to move back to the town in early October moving in at Ruskin Drive; a move that is relished by their captain.

“When I played at Knowsley Road, when I was 17 or 18, it was great.

“Hopefully bigger crowds will return when we move back to St Helens. I’m very much looking forward to the new ground and the new facilities,” he said.