Cove Rangers face a testing start to League One against two of their biggest rivals but midfielder Sena believes the tough double header is just what his side need.
Paul Hartley’s side travel to Hamilton Accies today before hosting Falkirk next week.
Having switched to a full-time model Cove face two of the three other full-time clubs in the division back-to-back but Sena has welcomed the challenge.
He said: “Hamilton and Falkirk are our first two games and they are two good sides who should be up there.
“We had a good test at Hamilton last weekend and I’m expecting another one on Saturday.
“Some people might look at us having a tough start as a negative but I see it as a positive thing as it will allow us to see where we are.
“I feel we’ve had a good pre-season but we need to turn up on Saturday and take it one game at a time.”
League One will be a tough test
Sena, who has played for Partick, Alloa and Montrose, has League One experience and he believes the stage is set for a competitive campaign in the third tier.
He said: “I’ve played in this league before and this is the toughest it has been in a few years.
“There are usually one or two full-time teams but this year there are four so it’s going to be competitive.
“I fancy us at home against anybody but we know we have to be good away from home too and it’s important we make a good start.
“We’ve got high ambitions.
“We were relegated last season but we’ve gone full-time and without putting too much pressure on ourselves we won’t accept anything below the standards we set in the changing room.
“We’re aiming high and hopefully it can be a successful season.”
Three reasons behind Sena’s decision to join Cove
It is a new-look Cove Rangers for their return to League One following the arrival of 18 new players at Balmoral Stadium.
Sena was signing number six of a busy summer of recruitment and he had no hesitation on making the move north.
He said: “There’s no hiding the fact the gaffer was a big part of me coming here as he had me last year.
“I played against Cove and could see it was a good club which was going places as well.
“To be able to join a full-time club was important too. I’m only 23, I’m still young and not looking to go part-time anytime soon.
“I’ve settled in pretty well. It’s a good bunch of boys and we’re all pretty new so I was easy to settle as we’re all in the same boat.
“We’re building a good team spirt. It’s been a fresh start for everyone which makes things easier and we’ve all benefited from the cup games as we’ve gotten to know what we’re good at.”
Experienced team-mates will be vital
Sena is one of the older members of the new arrivals at the club at 23 and he believes the experience of fellow newcomer Paul McGowan and the senior players who were at Cove last season will be important.
He said: “I’m one of the oldest and I’m only 23. There’s a lot of young lads here so it’s important to have guys like Gowser and Mark Reynolds, Mitch Megginson and Fraser Fyvie.
“We’ve got good experience in the team in Gowser. Even when we scored a goal at Hamilton last week he was still telling us how rubbish we were and keeping us on our toes.
“All the boys who have been here before will be good for us.”
