CAPTAIN Paul Walsh hopes Atherton will be a different side with overseas star Brenton Parchment in the team.

The Higham Park side got off to a losing start in the Bolton League last Saturday and face a difficult trip to one of the pre-season title favourites Bradshaw today.

Their cause was not helped against Daisy Hill last weekend by Parchment's delayed arrival and their inability to replace him due to Bolton League rules.

But the man who helped Farnworth to the league title and Hamer Cup double in 2005 – earning him the honour of having the club's games room named after him – arrived on Thursday and goes straight into the first team at The Rigbys today.

Atherton will still be underdogs in the game, but Walsh believes the presence of Parchment will be a big boost to his players.

"He will make a huge difference," he said.

"When you have the overseas with you and the other players see him on their side they gain confidence and play even better.

"It was disappointing not to have him in the team for the first game but we're looking forward to having him with us from now."

As well as Jamaican Parchment, who has also played in the area for Blackrod, Flixton, Ramsbottom and Haslingden, Atherton have also added Jack Shovelton from Adlington and Amar Ullah from Cherry Tree to their side from last season, and are generally considered to the best of the nine teams to have joined the newly-expanded 21-club Bolton League from the Bolton Association.

Not that Walsh feels under pressure to finish in a top-half position that would ensure a Premier League place when the League splits into two divisions next year.

“If we don’t finish in the top half in the first year then it won't be the end of the world, we'll just rebuild for the season after," he said.

"If we're in the Second Division it wouldn’t be the be all and end all.

“Our club is about bringing through young players and nurturing them. We breed good enthusiasm."

Walsh was far from downhearted by the defeat to fellow former Association club Daisy Hill, which on paper looked one of the more winnable games in a tough opening five league games which include another hotly-fancied side, Westhoughton, and title outsiders Horwich RMI.

"I was happy with our performance last week even though we lost, especially the batting," he said.

"And we learned what Jack [Shovelton] and Amar [Ullah] can give us going forward.

"It will be a tough game against Bradshaw but all games are going to be tough with everyone going for the top nine.

"It’s a tricky start. We play three of the best teams in the league in our first five games so if we get through that then you never know.

“We know it's going to be a challenge and we'll rise to the challenge. We want to compete, we are not just there to make the numbers up.

“It is a fresh challenge, it’s not going to be easy but we’ll rise to the challenge.”