Boreham Wood will make history on Saturday when they kick off in the re-branded National League for the first time with FC Halifax Town the visitors to Meadow Park (3pm).

The 2014/15 campaign was an unforgettable one for Wood, who took the National League South by storm, finishing second to eventual winners Bromley before earning promotion with a win over Whitehawk in the Play-Off Final in May.

Now they are up against it at the top table of non-league football. Ian Allinson has been active in the transfer market making no fewer than nine signings this summer.

Seven of the nine have significant experience in the Football League, with Preston Edwards and Jamie Lucas the exceptions.

And although Wood are the bookmakers’ favourites for an immediate return to the National League South, they will surely take inspiration from sides who have won promotion and impressed in recent years.

Last season Eastleigh finished in the play-offs in their first year in the National League whilst Dover Athletic’s stunning maiden campaign earned them an eighth-place finish after being tipped for the drop.

Halifax are another example of a side who have thrived immediately after winning promotion, finishing fifth in their first National League campaign before a ninth-place finish last season under Neil Aspin.

Reformed in 2008 as a new club following the demise of the original Halifax Town, the Shaymen’s trajectory has been almost exclusively upwards, winning three promotions in their short history to return to the National League in double quick-time.