Reigning Premier Division league and FA Cup champions Dandy Town will attempt to end a four-year Charity Cup drought on the 20th anniversary of the competition and put yet another trophy in the cabinet when they take on cross-town rivals and two-time defending champions North Village at BAA Field tonight.

Town last hoisted the silverware in 2000-01 when they defeated Devonshire Colts 2-1 and only last season declined to appear in the final as Friendship Trophy champions after Village had pulled off the league and FA Cup double.

That distinction went to league runners-up Devonshire Cougars who lost a largely uneventful match to give Village a second successive cup title.

Town, however, won?t be too generous this time around, warned coach Devarr Boyles ? an obvious choice for the coveted Coach of the Year Award last season after pulling off the evasive league and cup double.

?We always go out to win,? he declared. ?And we aren?t going to change that philosophy. We don?t see ourselves as the defending league or FA Cup champions . . . we see ourselves as a team trying to win.

?We aren?t trying to hang on to anything because when you try to hang on most times you come up short. And so we are trying to win the first game of the season, more importantly, and then win every game after that ? and I think that?s probably every team?s focus.?

And Town certainly possess a star-studded attack and one of the stingiest defences in the league to get the job done ? despite a lack of match fitness of a few players on the team?s roster.

Town bagged 32 league goals last season and conceded just 12 against.

?I think some of the players, particularly Carlos (Smith), Khano (Smith) and Ottis (Steede), with the extended football season for them (World Cup qualifying campaign), they come in a lot closer to match fitness then a lot of the other players,? added Boyles.

?But Seyoum (Tuzo) and a few other players are natural athletes and so it really doesn?t take them long to reach football fitness. So what we are hoping for is the players who are fit can carry the others until they get up to par.?

In the build up to tonight?s urban derby, Town have so far undergone limited practice. Still, coach Boyles remained optimistic.

?As it relates to pre-season I think we are behind in our preparations. . . we?ve only had seven training sessions going into this particular game,? he explained.

?We did start some strength training in July but the numbers were generally small at that time. And having had only seven sessions a lot of questions still remain unanswered.?

Questions such as the team?s ability to embrace change following the off-season acquisitions of a few key players.

?I still don?t know the best fit for the players. Whenever you bring in new players, the group dynamics change and that?s what we are currently experiencing at St.John?s Road,? added Boyles.

?So we are right back to the bottom of the team-building process which simply means everybody?s position is threatened. So a new pecking order will be established and this is just the first step in the process . . . we are still in the teething stage.?

While Town will be gunning to add more silverware to their impressive collection, winning, said Boyles, is not the team?s sole purpose.

?Tonight?s match is not our main focus. Certainly we want to win because it is a final but we prefer to be measured later on in the season,? he said. ?We will be happy to get a result and a decent performance but winning is really not our focus.?

Kicking off tonight?s proceedings at BAA Field is the Womens Charity Cup match featuring PHC and defending champions Lady Cougars (formerly Rude Girls) at 6 p.m.

The Charity Cup was introduced in 1984 and was first won by Southampton Rangers who defeated Somerset Trojans 5-4 on penalty kicks.

Proceeds from tonight?s match will go in aid of PALS. Admission is $8 for adults and $3 for children under 12.