New Richmond director of rugby Steve Hill says his men are out to erase the memory last season’s underachievements.

The 49-year-old, who presided over his first pre-season training session last week, took charge in June after the club decided not to renew the contract of former chief Geoff Richards in April.

‘Philosophical differences’ between the club’s Board and Richards saw the Australian end his two year reign, having taken the Athletic Ground outfit to a mid-table finish in the National Division Two South.

Hill ran the rule over his new squad over the closing weeks of the season and believes he has the necessary quality to better his predecessor’s efforts.

Former London Welsh and Rosslyn Park fly-half Dylan Pugh is expected to bolster the ranks at Kew Foot Road next season with a number of Loughborough University players also expected to swell the front row ranks.

Richards final season was beset by injuries and availability issues surrounding some of his key stars, and Hill believes strength in depth is going to be the secret to his success.

“It is going to be a tough season with the likes of Newbury and Jersey coming in to the league. There won’t be many easy games,” he said.

“Many players were disappointed with their efforts last year and are determined to put that right.

“Four or five key players were injured all last year and I want to be in a position where injuries don’t affect you. It is about creating a depth of squad in the ones and twos.

“I want to create an atmosphere where people want to be available to play so that doesn’t become an issue for us.”

Hill spent 14 seasons in charge at Oxford University as well as coaching England Students for five seasons, which means he has a grasp off some of the best young talent becoming available.

He is expected top forge closer ties with Harlequins that will see Stoop academy youngsters like Miles Mantella spend next season at the Athletic Ground.

And from what he has seen so far he is feeling fairly bullish about the coming campaign “I knew the role may come up so I took a look at three or four games and was impressed by some aspects of the teams performance,” he added.

“There is already a strong squad here that I think can perform significantly better than last season.

“There were 65 senior players down for the first training session and there is a lot to be encouraged about.”