Chester Nomads boss John Cadwallader believes a top five finish would be ‘a miracle’ for his side and has targeted a season of consolidation.

Cadwallader’s men have finished fifth in each of the previous seasons in Division One, but with the club now focusing on bringing through players from their second team rather than recruiting the Nomads manager appreciates that kind of finish represents a tall order this year.

Nomads sit 11th with eight points from nine games, but progressed to the second round of the Chester Senior Cup with a 2-1 win at Cheshire League side Tarporley Victoria on Saturday.

Cadwallader and Simon Andrews netted in Nomads’ triumph over the Vics to book their place in the hat for the next round.

“It is great for us to get through to the next round but we know this season is going to be a bit tougher than it has been as we are in a bit of transition,” he said.

“We’ve finished fifth for the past three years but I think that it will be a miracle to do that again this year. We’re aiming to finish in the top 10.”

“We used to recruit a lot of lads from other clubs but we’ve moved away from that now and are wanting to see our lads come through from the seconds, and that takes time.

“We’ve had a mixed start to the season but only had one home game so there are plenty of opportunities for us to pick up some points.”

Nomads are back in Division One action this weekend when they host third-placed South Liverpool, who are yet to taste defeat in the league this season.

Upton AA sealed their second round berth after they routed CDFL Premier League outfit Uberlube 9-0.

Todd Reid’s visiting side were ruthless in front of goal with Adam Thelwell-Wilson grabbing a hat-trick, setting them up for their trip to fourth-placed Helsby on Saturday.

Reid said: “It was a great win for us to be honest and a massive confidence boost ahead of Helsby.

“People might say it was only a Chester & District League team but Uberlube are a very good side and we were only 2-0 up at half-time and had a real game on our hands.

“But we got out of the blocks in the second half and took the game to them and once the goals starting going in you could visibly see the confidence in the players and they all wanted to get in on the act.

“The Helsby game will be tough but we are going into it confident.”

Kevin Garland’s brace and a strike from Blake Peters brought a 3-1 triumph for Blacon Youth Club at CDFL Division One side Lodge Bar.

Joint managers Jamie Rogers and Paul Dowridge’s team have struggled for league form so far this season but the Cup proved a welcome distraction as they earned themselves a place in round two.

Blacon travel to Newton in the league this weekend (3pm).