It's not a priority tournament for the club this term, but this weekend's game will mark a welcome start to the season for a troubled side that over the summer has lost half a dozen key players and has seen a complete overhaul in management.

It's been a turbulent few months for the Souters, which saw them relegated following a miserable season last year, only to be thrust back into the Premier Division with the arrival of Gretna 2008 in the First.

And with both vice-chairman Jim Moody and manager Paul Brownlee blaming the loss of players on the return to the top tier, it's proved something of a mixed blessing.

Moody told The Wee Paper: "The squad's in a good mood ahead of the season, although some are bound to be a bit unsettled with all the changes that have been going on and the new team will take a while to settle in.

"We lost about six or seven players over the summer which was very disappointing.

"A lot of them returned to amateur clubs – I guess they'd rather be big fish in a small pond than compete at East of Scotland level.

"A lot of Border sides are in the same boat, struggling to recruit good local players.

"It's been really frustrating, but now we just want to get going again.

"I feel sorry for Paul and Davie (Main) who have been thrown in at the deep end, but I've no doubt they'll come through."

For Brownlee, the loss of key players has proved a major blow and with a number of gaps in this weekend's line up, the game at Nithsdale will prove a critical test for a squad that has yet to gel.

A big miss will be Ryan Pritchard, who broke his ankle in the friendly against Kelso two weeks ago.

He faces further assessments next week following concerns over potential ligament damage, which has cast a shadow over the start of the season for Brownlee.

He told us: "In the few friendlies we've had, the team has gelled well, but we need goal scorers.

"The main reason I took the job at Selkirk was because I knew a lot of the players here.

"It was disappointing that we lost so many over the summer, but I'm hoping to get some of them back into the side.

"I'm looking forward to getting going now, though," he added. "Once everyone is back fit and the squad gets settled in I'm optimistic we can perform well this season."