SUCCESSIVE promotions are more than just a pipe dream for Scunthorpe RUFC head coach Tim Robinson this season.

The Greens return to the national leagues with a home clash against Kenilworth tomorrow.

Still buoyant from their Midlands One East title triumph and the club's subsequent first ever trip to Twickenham, Robinson's side enter National Three Midlands on the crest of a wave.

And the former club captain sees no reason why Scunthorpe can't look ahead optimistically.

"Obviously it is going to be a testing year, but it is going to be the same for a lot of teams," Robinson said, trying to be realistic.

"The top three all went up last season though, so that has kind of opened the door a little at the top end of the division.

"There are quite a few teams who seem to have had quite a big turnaround with new coaches and players so it is definitely going to be interesting.

"But we are setting our standards high and looking to get some early momentum. And if we can do that then yeah, I think we can be looking towards promotion.

"Obviously we have just got to give it a good go in our first few matches and then we should be able to tell a bit better where we can be aiming for this season.

"But we've put a lot of hard work into pre-season and now we are chomping at the bit to get going and we want to stamp our authority on the game tomorrow quickly.

"But we are definitely confident and we are certainly looking forward to tomorrow's game."

Pre-season has not quite gone to plan for Scunthorpe though, their matches often seeing depleted sides fielded.

But following a heavy defeat in their final pre-season game, against Sheffield Tigers last weekend, Robinson insists training has been a completely different story.

"We actually ended up losing 46-10 (to Sheffield) which was obviously quite disappointing," the former England Under-21 cap continued.

"There were quite a few senior players missing so it was quite frustrating again, but the guys are amateur players so I obviously have to give them a bit of leeway in the summer.

"It's a long season that they have to take a lot of time off work for, so I won't moan too much.

"But training has gone really well.

"The amount the players have given in training and the amount we have progressed since last season already has been really pleasing."

A huge turnaround for tomorrow's opponents Kenilworth also makes for an intriguing clash, with both sides a little unsure of what to expect.

"I can't really judge them," Robinson added. "They were ninth last year and had a bit of an up and down season.

"They are always pretty decent and are usually strong up front.

"But they have changed so much over the summer that I can't really predict what they'll be like.

"It's a bit of a strange one for me because I like to do my stats and things before games.

"So we will have to try to find out what they're about early in the game.

"We'll throw all we've got into the mix and see what comes out."

The Greens will be without vice-captain Luke Scargall and Kiwi scrum-half Dan McLean through unavailability tomorrow and Dave Garbutt misses out with a back problem.

It means Alan Neal, Callum Davies and Gavin Kempthorne are likely to have an early chance to stake a claim for a place in the team.