LEATHERHEAD have been inserted as favourites for the Ryman League Division One South title this season.

Mick Sullivan's men are 4/1 firm favourites to lift the Ryman League South trophy following a superb end to the 2010/11 campaign.

When SkyBet first started offering odds on the Ryman South winners at the end of July, the Tanners were 7/1 second favourites behind Worthing, but since then the odds have been almost halved to 4/1.

Leatherhead lifted the Ryman League Cup last year, seeing off three opponents from the Ryman Premier League in the process, during a run of just one defeat in their last 16 league games.

Sullivan sees the betting as a "compliment", but is also wary of how other teams will see them.

He said: "You can look at it as being quite flattering that people think we're good enough to win the league, but I think it's a bit of added pressure on us.

"I would rather it not be that way, I would rather us be a little bit anonymous like last year because when you get tagged as favourites everyone wants to beat you and that's an extra problem I would rather not face.

"But the aim is to win the league, there's no doubt about that, we've got a team good enough to be up there competing in the top six at least, but we've got our feet firmly on the ground."

Chairman Peter Ashdown thinks the 4/1 tag is misleading, believing some fans put money on the club when they were as high as 9/1, forcing the bookies to rethink, but he does think being one of the favourites is "justified".

He said: "We would like to think that if we keep the spine of the side fit then we will be a force to be reckoned with.

"It's hugely exciting and we are deserving of being in the frame and there's every justification in thinking we should be there.

"The challenge we have this year is there's a level of expectation that was not there before and previously not many of our competitors took much notice, whereas now we will be seen as someone to beat.

"I think we may be favourites because of certain bets that may have taken place though."

Leatherhead start their campaign next weekend (Saturday, August 21) away at Worthing, the third favourites for the title, before hosting Metropolitan Police on Tuesday, August 24.

Sullivan said the first month could "make or break" the season.

He added: "You could not have asked for a harder start, that's not going to help our cause. If the first one wasn't hard enough, the second is doubly hard and we have got all the top boys early on, but we have got to play them at some time and at the beginning there's no easy games because they are all contested fiercely and there's everything to play for, so it will be make or break early doors.

"If we can get a draw [at Worthing] I would be happy with that, then we have Met Police on the Tuesday."