BRIGHTLINGSEA Regent assistant boss Pip Boyland wants his players to start the season as they mean to go on - by developing good habits and keeping mistakes to a minimum.

The R's play their first competitive fixture of the season tonight when they welcome Tiptree Heath to the Taydal Stadium in the opening round of the Tolleshunt D'Arcy Memorial Cup.

Regent are holders of the competition, having defeated neighbours FC Clacton in the final last term, and tonight's showdown comes just three days before their big Bostik League premier division curtain-raiser at Kingstonian.

Boyland wants his players to set their standards high and set a benchmark from the beginning.

“Good habits need to kick-in now," he told the Gazette.

“In the first couple of friendlies you can adjust and make allowances for small errors, hoping you’ll quickly get through that period.

“Now, however, we’re at that stage where if we’re still doing those things it becomes a concern.

“We’re not too far away from the first game and shouldn’t be making mistakes that don't need to be made.

“Starting games well is so important because in our league teams won’t give you two minutes to settle.

“If you make a mistake, you’ll be punished and we want to get those out the way so that when the season gets underway, we can really compete.

“If a team scores against us through good open play then fair enough, but we don’t want to make life hard for ourselves by taking risks and making mistakes."

Brightlingsea concluded their pre-season campaign with a 1-0 defeat at home to Bowers and Pitsea on Saturday.

It meant they won three and lost four of their summer fixtures.

The victories came against Brantham Athletic, Long Melford and AFC Sudbury, with the defeats coming against Ipswich Town's under-23s, Needham Market, Clacton and now Bowers.

Meanwhile, Boyland says the club's players should be motivated and inspired by the success of former Regent stalwart Rob Harvey.

The midfielder recently put pen to paper on an eye-catching professional contract with Championship side Millwall.

“Rob has pushed on and earned himself a professional contract," said Boyland.

“Obviously he’s got ability but he’s also got great belief in himself.

“When he stepped on the pitch, he was direct, full of energy and went and proved himself.

“He was confident he was a good player and his story should be inspirational for all our players.

“That’s what I’ve told them.

“They’ve got to go into every game thinking ‘who’s watching me? Who can I impress?’

“It might be scouts, whoever, but you have to be the one to stand out and these boys need to appreciate that.

“They’re still learning, of course, but it’s a case of playing to their strengths and knowing what they can do if they really put their minds to it.”