NICK Holmes is back and he means business. Taking up the reigns at Old Sarum after his lengthy enforced absence in Florida, the Salisbury City boss has warned players and supporters alike to be ready for a bumpy ride ahead.

He is pulling no punches in his assessment of the fierce battle for Ryman Premier Division survival that now faces the Whites, as they attempt to put the unsettling legacy of the last five months behind them and get down to the serious business of fighting for every point going.

And, while Holmes is the first to admit that the players have suffered as a result of the revolving door of caretaker managers at the Ray Mac, he is adamant that City have run out of time for excuses.

He said: "My absence has been detrimental - of course it has - but I'm back now. It's over.

"Things have happened this year at Salisbury City that you wouldn't want to happen ever again.

"The players have had legitimate reason to feel unsettled and complain that they don't know who's running the club or who to go to with any problems, but they're not entitled to hide behind that when it comes to results.

"We've all got a massive job to do in the next few weeks and we all know that the sooner we get back to winning ways the sooner we can get out of this mire."

The former Southampton midfielder is not one to shirk a challenge and, declaring himself ready and eager to roll up his sleeves and get on with the task in hand, he issued a stark warning to under-performing members of the team: "If they keep making the same mistakes over and over then some of them will have to go.

"I've got to give us the best possible chance to stay up. The players now have an opportunity to prove themselves to me - but they are going to have to do it quickly.

"They've got to realise that we have no divine right to stay in this league and, if we end up in the bottom four, then it will be for one reason only - because we deserved to be."

Holmes is hoping that this new spirit of steely determination will rub off on the players, whom he described as "the most decent lads you could hope to meet".

That very decency, Holmes believes, goes a long way towards explaining why Whites have so far struggled to rise to the challenge of fast, physical sides such as Yeading and Leyton in their first spell in the Isthmian set-up.

He added: "The reason we've been getting beat is that we're still too honest and too nice.

"Salisbury is a nice city and this is the type of player it tends to breed.

"But that's not the sort of player we are coming up against in the Ryman League.

"They are prepared to be physical, they are prepared to manipulate the referee - they are just brought up to be tougher."

As well as their lack-lustre league form, it still rankles with Holmes that City failed to repeat last season's FA Cup exploits, which saw them reach the first round proper, giving supporters a never-to-be-forgotten trip to Hillsborough.

Holmes made one of many transatlantic trips to be hands-on for their fourth qualifying round tie with Slough Town.

But a soft, late winner ensured that Slough enjoyed a glory run against Walsall before succumbing to fellow Ryman League side Yeading, who earlier this month were the envy of the non-league world when they lined up against mighty Newcastle United in a televised third round contest.

Reflecting on Yeading's cup run, Holmes was quick to praise the feisty Londoners who City visit on Saturday.

He said: "Slough was a real disappointment. I definitely felt we had Walsall within our grasp.

"But Yeading are succeeding for a reason.

"Whatever you may think of their style, they have strength and pace in every area. They know there's no place for sluggishness."

Calling for a similarly robust approach from his own charges, Holmes added: "If you want a player who will say, 'there's the ball and here's how I'm going to get it', we've got Wayne Turk.

"But there's nobody on our team who's really able to put themselves about, boss the other players and, to an extent, boss the officials too.

"I've told our boys that of course, on a personal level, I would rather have them in my dressing room than any of those others. They're a great bunch.

"But we've got to get a lot tougher right now and the only way we can do that is by standing together and helping each other out on the pitch."

A battle royal may lie ahead of Holmes and his team but after five months in the Florida sunshine his passion for football and specifically the Whites remains undimmed and his joy at being back is plain to see.

He said: "Being away showed me that all I want to do is be involved in football.

"I've always loved Salisbury - I used to come and watch them play long before I was involved.

"The love of sport in me is so strong, I have to be around it. I think I may be a sportaholic!"

But while Holmes is back in harness at the Ray Mac, his wife and one son remain in the USA.

He said: "It's not ideal for me to have the family spread across the world but they know and I know that it's better for me to be happy doing this job than unhappy doing almost anything else."

And beating the drop is only the start of Holmes's ambitions for Salisbury City.

He explained: "My number one ambition has always been to take them as far as they can go - whether that be the Football League or whatever.

"But these things cost money and, if we seriously want to go further, we need to look at that side of things.

"There's already one virtually professional side in our league and much of the Conference South has already gone that way.

"It will take a big commercial venture to get us in a position to compete with that type of set-up."

Reaffirming his long-term commitment to the club, Holmes referred to draft development plans for the land at the open side of Salisbury City's stadium.

He said: "The best thing that could happen for us would be for the Old Sarum housing to go ahead sooner rather than later and for the developer to decide that they don't want us in the middle of their houses in our current form and help us to rebuild the stadium as more of a fitness complex, which could be in use all day with all sorts of sports and social facilities on site."

But all that lies in a long way in the future.

For the time being, Holmes is equally enthused by the prospect of once again working closely with the players he has in his care right now.

He said: "One of my favourite things about management is working out how to get the best out of different people.

"There are some players here that are more or less playing at their full potential but I would say that Robbie Matthews, for one, is only at about 60-per-cent of his potential.

"I can't wait to have the opportunity to work with him and the others and see what else they could do for us.

"That's what I enjoy most of all about this job."

And if the Whites' explosive 5-1 victory over Windsor & Eton on Saturday is anything to go by, Holmes has his charges primed and ready to take on anyone who stands between them and three points for the remainder of the season.

It's an exciting prospect.