Ashford United manager Kevin Watson knows better than to make predictions in a league as competitive as Isthmian South East

Ashford boss Kevin Watson isn’t about to make any predictions for the new Isthmian South East season.

Any number of sides will fancy their chances in what is one of the most competitive divisions in non-league football.

Watson, who succeeded Tommy Warrilow this summer, has worked in the league previously with Cray Valley and knows how tough it is.

“It’s a really high standard,” he said.

“You always get people who try and predict things but I don’t think you can in that league.

“There’s so many teams with such depth of quality and even early on in the season, you have some teams who are up the top and they fall away a little bit.

“You look at some teams and their signings and make naive assumptions that they’ll be strong this season.

“There was one last season, it looked like they were really going for it, and they struggled for the majority.

“We just control what’s in our own hands and focus on trying to get our own team together and get a really good collective understanding of what’s expected and how to implement it.”

Ashford started pre-seaon with a 4-0 win at Whitstable on Tuesday night and visit Watson’s old club Chatham tomorrow (1pm).

The Nuts & Bolts have recruited well, adding the likes of Ian Draycott and Alex Akrofi, and may not be finished just yet in the transfer market.

Watson said: “We’re OK on numbers. I wouldn’t dismiss one or two more but they would have to be the right fit.

“We’re quite specific about what we’d want and the sort of personalities we want because one thing I am quite confident on is I think we’ve got a really good bunch of people.

“It’s pleasing to see the dynamic, even though we’ve only had a couple of sessions.

“There’s a mutual respect for each other, so we’re quite happy with that.”