NEW Gornal Athletic boss Brendon Wilkinson believes his lack of non-league managerial experience will have no impact on the club’s promotion ambitions.

The Peacocks are once again aiming to get out of the West Midlands League Division One after ending up fifth last season.

And although Wilkinson has never managed at West Midlands League level before, he will be joined at Garden Walk by assistant Craig Love and coaches Mike Roberton and Dan Crudgington.

With a successful spell with Woodcross at Sunday League level under his belt, Wilkinson said he knows the West Midland leagues well due to his son Liam playing for both Gornal and Tividale.

He said: “My son was at Tividale last season so I watched them a lot. When he wasn’t playing I was watching games at Bilston and Willenhall, so I know a lot of the teams in the league, how they play and the players they have.

“But I’m really looking forwards to the challenge. I’ve got a very good coaching staff with me who have a lot of experience in this league, so they will be a big help.”

With pre-season training getting underway this week, Wilkinson is looking forward to taking a closer look at his players to see which areas of his team needs improving.

“I’m really excited about rebuilding a team which can push for promotion,” he said. “We really want to get back into the West Midlands Premier.

“When you look at the size of this club it really should be higher up the leagues and it’s my job to make that happen.

“We’ve already had a lot of interest from players around the area who want to come and play for Gornal.

“But what I’ve got to try and do is balance the good young talent we have at the club with experienced heads, who will not get star struck when playing at the bigger local grounds.”