HERE we go again then.

Another season has rolled around, with our hopes and dreams now once more pinned on a group of eleven men who kick a ball around some grass.

For too many of us, this weekend is not the second weekend in August. Friday is New Year’s Eve; Saturday is the start of our year, because we live for seasons. Some call this mindset sad, we care not a jot. Hope springs eternal with a new campaign ahead of us.

Hopefully you’re as excited as I, but let’s deal with the elephant in the room shall we? Namely, that according to the bookies, the County are going back to the Conference and it’ll be relegation, not a celebration.

For weeks and weeks it has been imperative to focus on matters off the field at Rodney Parade, because the potential takeover of the club by the Supporters Trust is going to be a defining moment in the club’s history.

However, it’s high time to assess Terry Butcher’s charges and the potential for the bookies being correct and the Exiles squandering two seasons of progress in the Football League by tumbling back into the non-league scene.

On paper, it’s easy to make the case that they’ve got it right (County are second favourites to be relegated).

Newport dismantled a squad who finished ninth and a few points outside of the play-offs, replacing them with cheaper players, the majority of whom have been signed from non-league football (five), or relegated Football League clubs (four).

They’ve also lost their two biggest assets, financier and chairman Les Scadding and former manager Justin Edinburgh.

New boss Terry Butcher is a manager with more failures than successes on a CV that fluctuates from the point he hung up his boots after a glittering playing career.

Newport have little semblance of continuity, have endured huge disruption off the field, have a drastically reduced budget and are facing an uncertain future as pertains to who will even own the club.

All factored together and it makes a pretty compelling case for the prosecution. County could well be for the drop.

However, for those of us who keep rather a closer eye on all things Newport County AFC, it’s not too tough to build an argument in defence of the Exiles, who could and should believe that they can easily defy expectations.

It’s not like there isn’t precedent, Wycombe Wanderers were tipped to finish fourth bottom last term and ended up fourth, and with a massive turnover of playing personnel as well. And they also happen to be a Supporters Trust run club. As are another club who many assumed would struggle, Exeter City. They finished in the top half, had a run at the play-offs and sold a player for £1.8 million. Not too shabby.

The Exiles squad might be an unknown quantity, but there are reasons to believe they can be highly competitive.

With experience at Chelsea and having excelled in the Conference with Macclesfield, goalkeeper Rhys Taylor should provide good competition to Joe Day and maintains the Chelsea connection in goal at County after Lenny Pidgeley’s departure.

County haven’t really deployed orthodox full-backs since David Pipe left the club, but both Scott Barrow and Danny Holmes seem to have the tools to succeed at this level.

Seth Nana Twumasi and Nathan Ralph are proven performers in the Football League, though both need a sustained run of games without injury. If they stay out of the treatment room, a youthful Newport benefit from both an injection of pace, and experience.

Matt Taylor is going to be important; the calm head with plenty of experience (a direct replacement for Darren Jones), while it will hopefully be a case of both Kevin Feely and Regan Poole building on their obvious promise with likely sustained runs in the side.

When he returns, Andrew Hughes will be pivotal. Fit and firing, he is better than League Two and will be keen to prove it.

In midfield it looks certain to be a sink or swim campaign for Yan Klukowski in terms of establishing himself as a Football League player, but it could easily be argued he should have played more last season, suffering from a perceived versatility, meaning he rarely got to play to his natural instincts.

No County fan will need convincing that Mark Byrne is among the best midfielders in League Two and excitingly, the Exiles have also added a huge amount of attacking width to their squad.

Alex Rodman, Medy Elito and Ralph are the kind of players the Rodney Parade crowd could well warm to with Butcher having shaped a squad that can certainly be tactically flexible.

Based on pre-season, we might look to add one of your own to that list as well, because it could well be a big season for Aaron Collins.

He’s arguably been the stand-out performer for County in pre-season and his rate of improvement in terms of game awareness – the ability is unquestionable – is highly encouraging.

County do look short in attack, with huge onus on two unproven commodities in the Football League in Scott Boden and Lenell John-Lewis, and they’ll be reliant on good returns from at least three of their attacking midfield options.

We’ve not really seen enough of Boden to judge him properly, but John¬-Lewis has impressed with his hold up play and aerial ability, though question marks remain on if he can become clinical in front of goal at a higher level.

Boss Butcher will still be seeking further reinforcements, but he deserves some faith despite some scepticism about his record.

He’s joined a club knowing the budget was being slashed and has smiled and got on with things.

He seems tactically flexible, wants to play attacking and entertaining football and is entirely genuine when he suggests he’s attracted to the challenge of working with an underdog.

And PR-wise, at a time where Newport County need to generate as much publicity as possible, he’s a dream ticket. Not only a big name in the game as a former England international, but someone who has worked extensively in the media since hanging up his boots. He speaks well and he has the pedigree that should see his players respecting him.

Given a fair crack of the whip, there is no reason County can’t be a success on Butcher’s CV, because he’s far from the managerial failure some have labelled him as. His work at Inverness stands any scrutiny.

These are tense times to be a County fan, with it seeming absurd to think so many were complaining about potentially missing the play-offs under Edinburgh’s watch. And that the football was “boring.”

I think it’s fair to say, most Newport fans would take finishing ninth this term, and most would also be content with what Edinburgh achieved the previous campaign, when they ended 14th. Personally, I’ll take third bottom, as long as matters change for the better in terms of the takeover.

Butcher and his staff have a really tough task of starting again with such a reduced budget to work with, but if they’ve got their scouting right, County will be absolutely fine. For the record, I’m tipping them to be a League Two club in the 2016/17 season.

Let the thrills and spills begin, Happy New Year everyone.