Ventspils set sights on Skonto

Dramatic finishes
In the last two seasons, Skonto have had to wait until the last day of the season to claim the title with FK Ventspils missing out on both occasions.

Ashworth determined
Undeterred, Ventspils have taken action in the close season to boost their chances of a successful challenge, bringing in a trio of new faces. English coach Paul Ashworth has signed Czech defender Tomas Hajdusek, Moldovan midfield player Ghenadie Angel and Slovakian striker Bronislav Jasurek. "We are ready for the championship," Ashworth said. "We will fight for the title with Skonto once again. I hope this time we will be the lucky ones."

Miholaps departure
Meanwhile, Skonto have seen key players leave in defender Olegs Blagonadezdins, midfield men Aleksander Rekhviashvili and Zurab Menteshashvili, and most notably, forward Mihails Miholaps, who has joined FC Alania Vladikavkaz in Russia. Miholaps was the league's top scorer in the last two seasons with 24 and 23 goals respectively. Skonto coach Aleksandrs Starkovs said: "I am satisfied with our preparation for the season. We did everything we had planned. Of course, we lost some players but everyone can be replaced."

Time to challenge
FHK Liepajas Metalurgs, third last time around, may well be the best of the rest. Although after splashing out on new talent prior to the 2002 campaign, they have had a relatively quiet pre-season. The only new arrivals have been Lithuanian defender Audrius Lukasavicius and experienced midfield players Yuri Gritsyna and Edijs Danilovs. "Everybody has problems," said coach Viktors Lukins. "However, we have prepared ourselves very well for the season and we will challenge the favourites."

Survival is key
A good outside bet could be FC Dinaburg, who have a sound base of young talent and a highly regarded forward in the Senegalese Christian Sanya. For the rest, the hope will be to ensure survival in the top flight and take it from there. The other four teams will be FK Riga, RKB Arma, FK Auda Riga and FK Gauja, who were known last season as FBK Valmiera. Auda were relegated after finishing bottom last term but their top-flight status was restored because of the financial problems of another First Division club, FK LU/Daugava.