GREAT & Little Tew captain Harry Smith is backing his side to push for an immediate return to the top-flight despite losing two key players over the winter

The west Oxfordshire side begin their Home Counties Premier League Division 2 campaign at home to Burnham on Saturday.

But they will be without the experienced head of former captain Andy Harris after the seamer joined Tring Park, and rising star Jordan Garrett, who has left to play in Bristol.

Tew agonisingly suffered relegation from Division 1 on the final day of last season.

And despite losing the duo, Smith still expects his side to challenge at the top of the table.

He said: “It’s a bit of a blow for us and we’ve not managed to replace them.

“We don’t have an overseas (player) either, but we’ve still got a good team.

“We’ve still got some quality players in there.

“If we can find some form we will definitely be winning more games than not.

“Last year we were good against the top teams and bad against the bottom teams.

“If we can find some consistency we could be alright.”

Tew welcome Burnham, who were also relegated last season, to the Gordon Taylor Oval this weekend.

And Smith is under no illusions about the importance of recording an early victory.

He said: “We’re hoping to go up. If we can get off to a flyer that would be a major help.

“You don’t want to be playing catch up if you want to be promoted.”