It may be friendly season in the Irish League but Johnny Tuffey believes Saturday afternoon's Charity Shield clash between Crusaders and Larne will have plenty of bite about it.
The Irish Cup winners take on the League champions at Inver Park in the traditional curtain raiser for the new campaign.
It is earlier than usual this year to help both sides prepare for their upcoming European games.
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Both the Crues and the Invermen face Finnish opposition in the first qualifying rounds of the Europa Conference League and Champions League respectively and Tuffey feels tomorrow's meeting between the two sides will go a long way in their preparation for those games.
"A lot of people see this as the glamour friendly or the curtain raiser, but it will be two top teams really going at it," he said.
"I've no doubt this will be one of the most competitive games we will play before the European games.
"I would imagine it will be fiercely contested, and it's great for both clubs to have that in terms of preparation before Europe.
"It's also massively important with White Ribbon that we get a good crowd and we can raise a substantial amount of money for a very worthwhile cause."
While the Crues finished last season on a high, sweeping Ballymena United aside to claim back-to-back Irish Cups much to Tuffey's delight.
"We obviously missed key players at different times throughout last season, but I think every club will have had similar situations that have gone on throughout the season," he said.
"We probably tailed off a little bit in the league, but to go and win the Irish Cup again and put a piece of major silverware on the table was fantastic.
"The Irish Cup has been very kind to us over the last couple of seasons and we're very grateful for that.
"We're happy going about our business. We look after ourselves and worry about what we're doing."
The Crues are back in full swing again after a short break and Tuffey has been impressed with what he has seen from his teammates so far.
"Pre-season has been going well," he said.
"We've been back in and had a couple of sessions on the pitch.
"We had our first game last Tuesday night and we will have a few more sessions planned over the next week or so.
"It's been good and sharp. The lads have obviously been doing bits and pieces over the off-season.
"Everyone is back in, looking good and raring to go again."
Saturday's Charity Shield decider at Inver Park is in partnership with White Ribbon NI.
White Ribbon NI are currently the official charity partner of the NI Football League since 2022 and has been set up to challenge the attitudes and behaviours which lead violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland.
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