After coming agonisingly close to glory last season, Devonshire Cougars coach Albert Smith hopes to clear the final hurdle this time around.

Cougars finished runners-up in the Premier Division to North Village and reached the semi-finals of the Martonmere, Friendship and FA Cup competitions.

"We enjoyed a fairly good season but things got a little erratic towards the end," Smith reflected.

"But you must learn from your mistakes and move on. This is a new season and my players have been training hard and are hyped to go."

One bright spot Smith highlighted was the arrival at the Den of former Village forward Domico Coddington.

"He is certainly an asset to us," said Smith. "It's just a matter of him learning the formations and getting used to the new surroundings."

Asked what Cougars lacked last season, Smith replied: "Depth.

"A team is only as good as its depth. And if you have the depth then you will be fine because a lot of things can occur during the course of the season."

Cougars again will boast one of the Premier Division's most potent attacks with Heys Wolfe and last season's MVP Raymond Beach leading the charge.

But it is the team's porous defence which concerns the coach most. Despite their lofty position in the table, Cougars had one of the worst goals conceded records in the league last season.

"Shawn Smith will be back for another season and we will be concentrating a lot on defence," said the coach. "He is the stalwart of the team and he will be there holding things together at the rear."

Smith said his team would use last season's experience as a "stepping stone".

"We want to take things one game at a time and make the necessary adjustments as we go along," he added.

Apart from Coddington's arrival and the departure of Yuseff Pitt to Hamilton Parish, Cougars' squad remains much the same.

"We basically have the same team as last season . . . but then again you just never know," said Smith. "It all boils down to the team who has the most depth. And I have a talked to them and told them that I can only take them so far. How far they want to go is totally up to them."

Cougars open their season on Sunday when they take on Dandy Town in a Martonmere Cup clash at BAA Field.