DAISY Hill are ambitious but realistic as they rise to the challenge of the Bolton League.

The St James Street side knew it was going to be tough against the likes of neighbours Westhoughton, Bradshaw, Horwich and the two Farnworth sides.

But three new players and a new coach bringing a more professional approach to training has returned a satisfactory start of three wins from the first five league games played.

Daisy are ninth in the 21-team table going into tomorrow's away game at Heaton, and that's where captain Steven Chilton would like to stay.

"We've made a decent start but the target stays the same: top half," he said.

"We're under no illusions, we know what we are. We've done quite well but the extra quality in this league is there for all to see."

Daisy brought in professional Adnan Raees, former player Amjid Khan and opening bowler Umer Quadri at the start of the season and signed Jake Wilde from Radcliffe this week. But it is the recruitment of Neil Redford as coach which has had the biggest impact.

"He's a youth development coach at Lancashire and he's made a massive improvement to our side in such a short space of time," said Chilton.

"Training is light years ahead of what it was. Now we have drills, routines, fitness work and it's all stats-based so we learn where we need to improve and then we work on it.

"We work on our fitness more as well and we've done a couple of bleep tests – and I'm happy to say I came fourth and all the lads who beat me are younger!

"We are a pretty young side. Me and my brother Mike are 32, Stephen Hodkinson is 34 and the rest are younger.

"Adnan's a quality player, Amjid played for us a few years ago and Umar's taken some good wickets.

"The rest are local lads who have been here years. Stephen Hodgkinson had a difficult start but has really hit his straps with the ball and has hit a few 40s. He's a great amateur. He got five wickets last week and had a hat-trick chance which was dropped.

"James Mann's fearless of anyone, he's batting a bit lower down the order and can get you 30 runs in no time."

Chilton and his brother Mike were the only twins to open the batting in the Bolton Association and may be the only twins to do so in the Bolton League.

They are just two of many stalwarts of Daisy whose strong foundation of clubmen like chairman Neil Redford – the father of the aforementioned coach of the same name – means they do not suffer from being situated less than a mile from the much bigger Westhoughton club who have been one of the leading lights in the League for years.

"There is a big catchment area in the town and potentially hundreds of players, so plenty to go round both clubs," said the skipper Chilton.

"Westhoughton do have pots of wealth as is well documented but some of us have been at Daisy for a long time, long enough to remember them before they got their money when they sold their old ground to a supermarket.

"We've lost some juniors to them but we seem to do okay. We've got a different atmosphere at our club and we have juniors and senior sides.

"The club's run well, it's self-financing and raises money from events organised by the likes of my mum Sandra and Jennifer Berry who have raised thousands.

"It's what we are and the team's the same, Daisy Hill people. We only pay the pro and we don't have pots of money like some of the other clubs.

"But we don't want to be seen as a team of mugs so we're doing what we can to be competitive.

"We pushed Farnworth all the way in the Hamer Cup and the only game we've been well beaten in was Farnworth Social Circle who played us off the park.

"The target is the top half and if we do that we'll be very proud."