LOCAL football returns this weekend when the Gwent County League begins.

In Division 3, Blackrock Rovers welcome newly-promoted Sudbrook CC FC who enjoyed a highly successful season in the East Gwent Senior League.

It is a fixture which Rovers manager Paul Lovell admits has come a little too early for his liking.

“It will be a tough test for us as Sudbrook are a very good team with some excellent players who have stepped down from playing Welsh League football.”

“They are one of the favourites for promotion and are very ambitious with a great management team backed up by a good committee.”

“This has probably come too early for us, as we are still gelling as a team and I would have preferred the derby to have been later in the season.”

Despite this, Lovell has been pleased with his team’s preparation, which included some competitive ‘friendlies’.

“We’ve been training hard and some new players have joined us including Jamie Green who played for Underwood in recent seasons, and we are delighted,” he added.

Sudbrook must wait until September 26th for their first home match because their pitch is overlapped by the cricket pitch, but the home fixtures later in the season could be useful if the team is challenging for promotion.

Another Monmouthshire derby is due when Rockfield Rovers host Caldicot Castle on Saturday.

It will be the first major test for new Castle boss Alex Hart.

A teacher by profession, Hart is hoping his men will learn the lessons of last season’s relegation battle which saw Thornwell Red & White relegated.

“We are hoping for a serious push on promotion,” he said.

“We’ve got a couple of old faces making a return along with new signing Rick Woodland in midfield. The challenges of being a player/manager have proved exciting and I have felt good, positive support from everybody from the club.”

“We are expecting the league to be more challenging than last season especially with Sudbrook coming up from East Gwent and Blackrock coming down from Division 2. We’ve focused on changing our style of play towards a more high-tempo style of play and hope to start with a positive result at Rockfield on Saturday.”

Division 2 side Mathern, who travel to Fairfield United, are also facing three away matches to start the season but manager/coach Colin Jeffery is confident his team will cope with them.

“The fixture computer hasn’t been kind to us but we are confident after an encouraging pre-season campaign which attracted new signings,” he said.

“There is a lot of competition for places in the Gwent County squad which should improve the two Reserve teams in the East Gwent Senior League.”

“The most important thing is ensuring the future of the club by attracting local young players while keeping the ones we already have. Promotion would be a bonus and we must build on the success from the last three seasons. The atmosphere and team spirit is good and we can’t wait for the season to start.”

All matches on Saturday, kick off at 3pm.