Finally the new season is upon us as the Santos FC PSL side heads for Loftus on Saturday night to take on Kaizer Chiefs in the MTN 8, a competition which now boasts a new sponsor.

But looking ahead to the new campaign, from my point of view, as chairman of this great club, there are obviously a few things we would like to see happening during the season.

Firstly, we have to carry on where we left off last season. Finishing third last season, with a very youthful squad, was a huge boost for the club. Now the challenge is for head coach David Bright and the squad to take it one step further. We will have to strive to improve on last season's performance.

It won't be easy. The other PSL teams have invested heavily in strengthening their squads. They are also now more aware of us - after last season's promising display - and they will be ready and motivated when they face us as opponents.

Here at Santos, we have added a few players to beef up up the squad, but largely we are happy to stick to the bulk of last season's squad. They are young, they are hungry and they have proven they have what it takes to compete at this level.

And, what's more, with last season's experience, this young squad can only get better as time goes by.
We want to build on the experience these youngsters will gain over the years - and build a winning momentum on the back of their talent, class and loyalty to the club.

Also, very important for us is to always maintain our promise to ensure that Santos FC has around 75% Cape Town content... by that I mean players who come from this area. That has been our motto over the last few years and it has paid dividends. The idea being to promote the local product as best we can.

Finally, we also have to improve the brand of football we play. And not only improve the brand but also get the team on a positive and winning mentality. In this way, we believe we can get the people to the stands and win back Cape Town's lethargic football support.