Hendon signing Spencer McCall believes the club should be challenging for the Ryman League Premier Division play-offs as an absolute minimum this season.

The 21-year-old midfielder, who found the net eight times for Harrow Borough last term, has been impressed with the quality in the Dons squad and believes the 4G surface they will be playing on at their new ground at Silver Jubilee Park will aid them.

He told the Times: “I think the minimum target for us is going for the play-offs. When I had my first meeting with Gary [McCann] that came up.

“There were obviously a few problems down here last season, but they’ve been dealt with and the way the squad is shaping up now, we’re confident of replicating what the club achieved two seasons ago (when Hendon lost the play-off final).

“You look at the quality we have in the squad and I think we can really challenge up towards the top of the division. I think the 4G surface will benefit us a lot as we have a quite a few technically good footballers in our squad.

“I like to consider myself as one of those players who gets the ball down and plays. The technical ability in our team is very good, and I think we’re in a good position heading into the season.

“There’s a couple of other teams who will play on the 4G surface too, so it will be interesting to see how we’ll get on, but we’re quietly confident.”

McCall, who was on Watford and Stevenage’s books as a youngster, got himself on the scoresheet as the Greens lost out in a 5-4 thriller against QPR’s Under-21s on Monday evening.

And the central midfielder, who also likes to operate in an advanced position, is still confident of forging a professional career for himself.

He added: “Anyone who is at this level now and at a similar age to me will believe they still have a decent chance of getting into the Football League – I certainly maintain the hope that I can.

“I’m only 21 but have played over 150 games in the Ryman Premier and Conference South combined, and I think that experience will stand me in good stead and in the immediate future with Hendon. You never know what might come up.

“I think the technical side of my game is one of my real strengths. I lived in Spain for seven years when I was younger and during that time spent a year in Valencia’s academy, and that helped me develop as a player a lot.”

McCall admits the opportunity to sign for Hendon was an easy one, after seeing a move to a Conference South side fall through earlier this summer.

“I had a couple of meetings with Gary and he sold the club to me,” explained McCall. “He’s got a lot of experience managing at this level so I felt it would be great to work with someone like that.

“Something came up in the summer where I had the opportunity to play at a higher level, but that fell through, which left me in limbo.

“Out of the blue I got a call from Gary the next day and, straight away after meeting him, I felt joining Hendon was the right thing to do, so I jumped at the opportunity of doing just that.”