Yeovil Town's highly-rated and talented goalkeeper Chris Weale cannot wait for the new season to start.

Weale, who finished last season on a high with a winners' medal in the FA Umbro Trophy Final at Villa Park against Stevenage Borough which included him pulling off an incredible save in the opening minutes of the match, believes that even bigger things could be just around the corner for the Huish Park outfit.

"Confidence is still high from the FA Trophy Final," he said. "Expectations will be high for the new season, but that won't count for anything unless we can do it out on the pitch.

"Everyone will be hoping that we can win the Nationwide Conference next season, but we can't be complacent."

And he added: "The manager (Gary Johnson) will make sure we are not complacent. He has helped me to impove as a goalkeeper during the past year. He picks me up on everything and he won't let any of us take things for granted. If we aren't playing well he'll put someone else in the team."

But Weale, who has enjoyed a rapid rise to prominence in non-league circles after former Glovers' boss David Webb took him on during the club's return to a full-time regime two years ago, said he could not believe how well things had gone for him.

"Two years ago I was helping to officially open the new B&Q store in Yeovil," he said. "It was very embarrassing because I'd just been given a full-time contract by David Webb and hadn't even played for the first-team at that stage. So to think of what has happened in the last two years is pretty amazing and I'm still only 20.

"I have improved so much as a goalkeeper during the past two years and I'm much more confident and a lot of the credit for that has to go down to David Webb for giving me my chance."

Being a local lad Weale has become one of the fans' favourites and a highly-prized asset for the club and his wonder save at Villa Park on May 12 is still a big talking point among supporters.

"Everybody I see keeps on asking me about that save," he said. "It wasn't a great save, but a save I had to make and coming so soon into the game it was an important one. But it looked better on television than it actually was."

Speculation after the FA Trophy Final soon linked Weale with various big-money moves to Football League clubs.

But he said: "I'm at Yeovil and I want to do well for them. I can't wait for the new season to start and I'm itching to get back to training on July 1 and to continue improving my game."

And he suggested that one of his goals for the new season would be to force his way into the England semi-professional squad to join his Huish Park team-mates such as Terry Skiverton, Anthony Tonkin, Adam Lockwood and Adam Stansfield.

Who would bet against that from happening?