And those who would try their hand at capturing this beast had better be prepared for a battle and tread with a degree of caution.

Four months, 24 days removed from being officially crowned local soccer kings, Vasco are charting a course through the jungle that is the First Division as well as a myriad of mine-filled cup competitions.

Dubbed the Volcanoes for their explosive tendencies, the Portuguese club begin the 1996-97 campaign as firm favourites to repeat their showing of last season, when they grabbed four of the six trophies up for grabs -- League, Martonmere Cup, Dudley Eve Trophy and Charity Cup.

But with success comes added pressure and assistant coach Donovan Livingston is well aware of the pitfalls prosperity can breed.

"You always get pressure, because people will say that with all these stars you must repeat. We know everybody's going to come at us this year, but we're braced and ready for the challenge,'' said Livingston, a former national team full-back for his native Jamaica and a stalwart defender locally for Hotels, Vasco and Somerset.

"There's no guarantee, a football is a bag of wind and you go out there and kick that, and you have to kick it good and there's no guarantee in that.

"So the guys have to train and play hard, with dedication and discipline. If they do that I don't see why we shouldn't repeat.

"The main thing is to focus and have self discipline, we can't afford to get cocky.'' That may be easier said than done with many in football circles still regarding Vasco as no more than a bundle of volatile individual packages waiting to explode -- a side laden with healthy egos and skills to match.

Can Livingston and head coach John Rebello again mould and keep them as a cohesive unit for a whole season? Yes, if you ask Livingston. All it takes is technique and a no nonsense attitude from the top.

"It's hard, but from the start we let everybody know that it's all about team and that `Yes, you are good players, but you can't put yourself as an `I' on this team. You come as a player, move to fit into the programme and deal with team and just play football using the materials you have'.

"It's a way to control the egos. If one has too much ego just put him on the bench for a little while and make him realise, because you can't have that causing confusion among the guys.

"There's no one star here, but a whole bunch of good players as one unit.'' One area laden with talent is the attack, with former PHC player and coach Sammy Swan being welcomed aboard to join an already deadly strike force containing the likes of the fleet-footed Corey Hill, Dwight Basden and Irving Burgess.

As for which sides might serve as obstacles to Vasco's goal of capturing all six titles available, Boulevard, who Vasco face on September 13 in the Charity Cup, stand out. However, Livingston said it was too early to predict from where the serious challenges might come.

Six titles? Is this a realistic goal? Answer again: Yes.

"Well, it don't make sense being in a competition if you don't aim to win it and if we can win all six we will try to win all six. Our goal is to go out there and play to win as much as we can win.

"I don't know if it's been done before, but if we can do it why not, we have the materials to do that.'' DONOVAN LIVINGSTON -- hoping for more silverware this season.