As Braintree Town prepare to step back up into the Vanarama National League this weekend, RON FOSKER takes a look at how they're shaping up with his Iron season preview:

For the first time in three years, Cressing Road should greet a number of familiar faces when Braintree Town’s season opens in earnest on Saturday.

Two years ago only Chez Isaac, Michael Cheek and Simeon Akinola remained of Danny Cowley’s play-off contenders of the previous season, while last year, Brad Quinton had to assemble a squad from scratch after every one of the previous season’s first team regulars departed.

This year Quinton has the luxury of welcoming back a sizeable chunk of last year’s squad.

Mark-Anthony Okoye has been offered full-time football at Bromley, though, while Roman Michael-Percil has headed to St Albans City.

In their place have come 25-year-old defender/midfielder Olu Durojaiye, a Nigerian player who was called up for his country’s under-20 development squad and played in the National League South for Welling United last season, defender Michael Clark, 20, from Leyton Orient and winger Lyle Della-Verde, 23, who made 34 appearances for National League South runners-up Dartford last season.

Also joining is goalkeeper Ben Killip, who made ten appearances for League Two side Grimsby Town last year, and he is expected to start when the National League campaign kicks off against FC Halifax Town on Saturday.

All have played their part in a variety of Iron’s pre-season friendlies.

A victory over a near-full strength Ipswich team was the highlight of the summer fixtures, while the defeat to Bostik League Dereham will have increased the manager’s worry lines as he approaches his 40th birthday next month.

Particularly an inability to find the net as was shown in the 0-0 stalemate against Chelmsford City in the final game of pre-season last weekend.

Braintree were one of the highest scorers in the National League South last year but finding the net at the higher level is inevitably going to be more difficult.

Quinton will also be looking for a solid defence this year after their back line was porous on occasions last year.

The Iron boss will certainly be hoping that the calm presences of Clark and Josh Hill and the return of Joe Ellul will help to shore up the back line for the greater tests at the higher level.

He will also hope that the team will carry with them the spirit that saw them through the dramatic final days of the season when they came through three away games including two penalty shoot-outs to become the first team to go up after finishing five places off automatic promotion.

Spirit as well as skill will be needed if Iron’s latest stay in the top tier of non-league football is not to be a short one.

But history is on their side.

This column pointed out when Iron were last promoted in 2011 that all but one of the previous winners of the then Conference South - Lewes, who had financial difficulties - had finished in the top half of the table the following season, a trend Braintree continued by finishing 12th.

Teams promoted via the play-offs have not been quite as successful but one has to go back a long way to find one who suffered immediate relegation.

Quinton generated a team that was greater than the sum of its parts last season. Supporters will be hoping he can repeat the dose as they move back up a level.