Joe Vines reckons Tooting & Mitcham will have everything to play for when the Ryman Premier campaign begins in August, despite a recent raft of departures.

With last season’s standout stars, defenders Andrew Howell and Justyn Roberts, along with striker Dean McDonald, having moved on this summer, one could forgive Terrors faithful for thinking a difficult year is in store.

But no-nonsense defender Vines is having none of it.

He said: “There is no doubt that with Andrew, Justyn and Dean leaving we have lost a lot of quality, but it is not the end of the world.

“When Justyn and Dean arrived it really highlighted the lack of quality we had in the side and Billy Smith knows that we have to replace that.

“But I am really confident that Billy will bring in some decent players this summer - he has been doing this job since before I was born so he knows what he is doing!

“The other thing to consider is that the two strongest sides in the league - Dover Athletic and Staines Town - are no longer there, and I think it will be a much more open field this year.

“With the players we have I reckon we should be aiming for the play-offs at least.”

Vines, along with brother Paul, have committed themselves to Tooting for next season as the Terrors prepare to run with a much smaller squad this time around.

And the centre-half is quick to state his ambitions for the coming campaign.

He added: “I played a lot of games last year and I avoided injury and hopefully that will be the case again.

“But my disciplinary record was not the greatest and that is something I definitely need to improve on - both for myself and the team.”