The National League is a rough, tough world where young managers like Kevin Nicholson learn their trade alongside seasoned campaigners who have been there, done it and bought the T-shirt.
After surviving on the final day of last season with a 2-0 win over North Ferriby United, Nicholson has once again taken the same approach of his former manager Paul Buckle to build what is essentially ' a National League team for the National League'.
Whereas Buckle was able to recruit the likes of Tim Sills, Lee Phillips, Chris Todd, Chris Hargreaves and Nicholson himself for his first season in the Conference - as it was then known - none of those individuals had won promotion before in their careers before they arrived at Plainmoor.
Nicholson hasn't had many of the luxuries that Buckle was afforded during his four years in charge of the Gulls between 2007 and 2011 - there is no record of Buckle having to drive the players to an away game in a mini bus or of the players driving to away games in their own cars from that era!
Last season's takeover by Gaming International appears to have stabilised the club at present, but speculation persists over a possible ground move.
The key now for Nicholson is stability, which is reflected amongst his new recruits, which includes four players who've won promotion from the National League in the past: Ryan Clarke (Oxford United 2009-10), Jake Gosling (Bristol Rovers 2014-15) and Josh Gowling and Jon-Paul Pittman (Grimsby Town 2015-16).
Hopefully the experiences of those four will rub off on their team-mates, especially Gowling, a former colleague of Nicholson from their time at Kidderminster, who was Grimsby manager Paul Hurst's 'go to' man, who would sort problems out before he had to become involved, for the Mariners during their Play-off winning 2015-16 campaign.
Other players such as right-back Ryan Higgins, who arrived from Southport in the summer, defender Sean McGinty and Luke Young also have a relatively large number of games under their belts despite all three still being in their early to mid-twenties.
One statistic is quite damning from last season for the Gulls is that of their final points tally of 53 United won 25 of them against the top eight sides in the National League - champions Lincoln City were the only one of the leading teams in the division to complete the double over the Gulls.
However, in their matches against the remaining 15 sides United only picked up only 28, which included 16 that were gained against the bottom seven.
An inability to grind out results versus the National League's middle ranking sides proved to be the Gulls' achilles heal and it is hoped the additions of the likes of Gowling, Pittman and Clarke will help to ensure that the United of 2017-18 prove to be an ultimately tougher outfit to beat.
Whether the Gulls mount a challenge for the newly expanded National League Play-off system could depend on whether Nicholson can unearth a 30-goal partnership from Pittman, James Gray, Ruairi Keating and former Plymouth Argyle striker Rory Fallon who recently joined United on non-contract terms as he aims to help New Zealand qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
In: Josh Gowling (Grimsby Town), Jon-Paul Pittman (Harrogate Town), Jake Gosling (Bristol Rovers), Ryan Higgins (Southport), Liam Davis (Cheltenham Town), Neal Osborn (Southampton), Ryan Clarke (Eastleigh),Yan Klukowski (York City), James Gray (Glenavon), Jamie Reid (Exeter City - loan), Jordan Lee (AFC Bournemouth - loan), Rory Fallon and Tallan Mitchell (Unattached)
Out: Brendan Moore (Rochdale), Brett Williams (Bromley), Courtney Richards (Macclesfield Town), Aman Verma (Tamworth), Lathaniel Rowe-Turner (Chester FC), Dan Sparkes (Dagenham & Redbridge), Giancarlo Gallifuoco (Dover Athletic), Shaun Harrad (Matlock Town), Ben Gerring (Truro City), Charlie Duke and Will Hancox (Rushall Olympic)
Signing of the Summer: Josh Gowling
As mentioned previously in this article, Gowling was Paul Hurst's 'go to' man to sort out any problems arising in the dressing room before he had to deal with them himself whilst at Grimsby Town. It is highly likely that Gowling will be looked upon to fulfil a similar role for his former Kidderminster Harriers' teammate Nicholson.
Player with a point to prove: James Gray
Former Northern Ireland Under-21 international Gray, the son of former Sunderland and Northern Ireland striker Phil Gray, made the headlines for the wrong reasons in 2016 whilst with Wrexham after being bitten by a venomous spider and was caught drink driving later in the same year.
However, if his pre-season form is anything to go by he could be making the headlines of the back pages for the right reasons, especially if he can replicate the form which saw him net braces against Bristol City and Truro City.
