KELVIN Highmore has demanded more mental toughness from his players this season in a bid to wipe out their customary Jekyll and Hyde performances.

The Calne Town boss was continually frustrated last campaign by his side's inability to put together a good run of results and has warned his players the trend has to stop.

Ahead of tomorrow's Screwfix League Division One opener at Almondsbury United, Highmore is desperate for a good start but knows their good pre-season form will count for nothing.

He said: "We have had a very good pre-season but as we found out last season it really does mean nothing.

"Last season was full of inconsistent performances and I am asking the players to be tougher mentally.

"They could raise their game for the difficult matches but they would then let their standards slip against the easier teams and that was very frustrating.

"We struggled to get a real run going and that was why we finished back in eighth position."

Highmore has added a number of players to his squad as he attempts to increase the competition for places.

Tim Tasker and Simon Gardener, from Biddestone, and Justin Messenger, of Melksham, will be challenging for a place in the centre of defence while Neil Grant, from Melksham, is expected to start on the right of midfield.

Highmore has also managed to keep hold of all of last season's stars despite a number of clubs showing interest in a couple of them and he is confident he has a squad capable of enjoying a good season.

He said: "We have got a stronger squad than last year and our fitness levels are looking very good.

"I have also brought some strong characters to the club in a bid to stop the complacency that has happened in the past and we would be very disappointed if we didn't do better than last season.

"Our home form was unacceptable last season but if we can change that and then repeat what we managed to do on the road, I think we could be up there."

The goalkeeping position has caused Highmore a lot of problems over the last couple of years but the competition between the posts ahead of tomorrow's opener looks stronger than ever.

Last season's number one, Darryl Simms, is still at the club while they have brought in Nick Evans, from Corsham Town, and will also be able to call on the experience of Paul Haines after his recovery from an arm injury.

With Gary Banks, Glenn Armstrong and Matt Pratley competing for two places up front, Calne also look as they could be full of goals.

They entertain Cadbury Heath on Tuesday night.