ANDY KING welcomes his players back for pre-season training today and the Town boss will urge them to harness last year's near-miss as a powerful weapon in the drive for success this time around.

Just 46 days have ticked away since the 2003-4 promotion push ended in the most heartbreaking fashion at Brighton and Hove Albion's Withdean Stadium but the hard slog ahead of the new campaign starts now.

Tommy Mooney will be the most notable absentee at Wanborough but the manager has added Jerel Ifil, Lloyd Opara and Steve Book to his squad. They are all expected to meet their new teammates for the first time today.

Mike Walsh will also have his first opportunity to make an impression as he joins the County Ground coaching ranks for a second time.

King insists he starts pre-season with 'a buzz' and sees no reason why his players shouldn't feel exactly the same as the countdown starts to the big kick off on August 7.

He said: "When that ball bounces for the first time at training, that's where I'm at.

"I much prefer being out there to what I call the politics side of the job.

"I know that comes with it but it's being out there in the fresh air which gives me the most pleasure.

"As for the squad that I welcome back, I feel quite comfortable and quite confident with what I've got. In a perfect world I'd have loved to bring in five new players.

"But that would have been me ignoring finances and getting the club into a position that it can't go into again.

"With what I have I don't feel we've taken a backward step from last year.

"Having Jerel Ifil here will improve us, I think Lloyd Opara's going to come through and I've another experienced goalkeeper on the books.

"We have lost Tommy Mooney's 20 goals but I am confident that Opara and Fallon can score goals for this football club.''

Managers cannot afford to dwell on the past but King sees no reason why the agonising end to the last campaign cannot be used to drive the push for promotion this time.

Besides, he insists he would rather have 'endured' the play-off semi-final loss than have ended the campaign in the comfort zone.

He said: "The disappointment should be a driving force and should have given them great hunger to go for it again.

"That's how I feel and I hope they feel the same.

"The excitement we had here with that finale, the crowds and everything else was incredible.

"My message to my players as I gather them together for the first day back is that what they went through must have motivated them to want to do it again.

"I'm not afraid to face that sort of disappointment again.

"As I said, I've never been prouder than I was that night and I'd take that any day above finishing midtable, 16th, 17th or 18th."

Although not a 'new' signing as such, King will be able to include Steve Robinson in a full session for the first time since the midfielder broke his leg at Blackpool at the end of January.

The man known as Turbo penned a new one-year deal last week as he reported back ahead of his colleagues for some pre pre-season work with Town physio Dick Mackey.