He’s not talking up promotion, not even talking finals.

But Murray United’s senior coach has vowed his squad will be competitive when they take to the pitch against Box Hill on Saturday night in their first game of Victorian National Premier League soccer.

Richards said they would modify their game plan and start at least two who are eligible for lower age divisions — but they won’t park the bus.

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“Five weeks ago when I took on this job we didn’t have one name signed,” he said.

“Now we have a football club.

“Most of the coaches at other NPL and NPL1 clubs are full of praise for where we are at and how we have pulled this together — initially some of them said I was mad taking this on at such a late stage.

“But at the end of the day if we lose our first six or seven games people aren’t going to remember where we were at in January-February.

“We’ll play a balanced game on Saturday, probably weighted slightly towards defence and very different to the way we expect to play for the rest of the year.

“But you have to remember that last Sunday was the first time we have had the full team together for a training session and now we have to taper off and get ready to play.

“It’s not ideal.”

Richards said his belief in the NPL and Murray United were fuelled by his own experiences.

“When I was a kid the choice was to either go to Melbourne or overseas to be recognised, there was no real pathway once you turned 16,” he said.

“But now as a 17, 18 or 19-year-old you are going to be playing premier league soccer where you can be seen, where you can be fast-tracked into the top tier of Australian soccer.

“When I took on the job I wanted it to be local and on Saturday we will start two young guys from the Border in an NPL1 game.

“It will be a great moment for them and more importantly for the game here in Albury-Wodonga — it’s what Murray United is all about.”

But Richards said it wouldn’t be a youth-only policy.

“I love playing kids, when I won the AWFA title at Melrose the team was mostly teenagers,” he said.

“But we have some of the senior players with bigger bodies and plenty of experience who have put their hand up and they deserve their chance at this level.

“We know we will draw on the younger guys in a long season, and particularly in games like the FFA Cup.

“We don’t really care how old you are or how good — it’s about attitude and a club culture, that you are willing to have a go.”