Tooting & Mitcham boss Roberto Forzoni has confirmed his initial 15-man first team squad is the “best of the bunch” he has had in for pre-season trials this summer.

Forzoni welcomed more than 200 prospective players to the club over the past fortnight and has targeted reducing that intake to 25, with an additional six reserve team players capable of stepping up.

Former Kingstonian midfiedler Lee Hall and ex-Dulwich Hamlet forward Sol Pinnock have made the manager’s first cut and the Imperial Fields chief expects all 15 to agree terms with the club this week.

Forzoni has installed a six-man management and coaching team as he bids to make an instant impact on the club’s return to Ryman League Division One South after last season’s miserable relegation campaign.

“There has been a lot of interest in people coming down here,” he said.

“I’ve been getting four or five phone calls a day asking for trials and as players find their feet here they are telling people what we’ve got going on and more players are coming down.

“The management and coaching set-up means players are getting more specialised coaching and there is a good group assembling.

“Now we have a benchmark of 15 to work with we’ll be able to asssess how good everyone else is. I just can’t wait to get started.”

Forzoni took over the hotseat from Kenny Brown, who oversaw Tooting’s Ryman Premier League nightmare last term – which saw the team relegated having conceded more than 100 goals.

And the new man, whose side host Greenwich Borough in their first pre-season friendly next Thursday, insisted his men would not be in the new league simply to make up the numbers.

“From a football perspective, things couldn’t be better. With the players that are coming to the club, we will be competitive,” he added.