OLLIE Berquez is relishing the prospect of facing former club Chelmsford City.

The midfielder and his Maldon and Tiptree team-mates play the Clarets in their opening pre-season friendly, on Saturday.

It promises to be a challenging start for Terry Spillane’s side, as they test themselves against the Conference South side.

And Berquez, who played more than 250 games for home-town club Chelmsford, has special reason to look forward to the Park Drive encounter (kick-off 3pm).

“Chelmsford are my old club and I’ve got great memories of my time with them,” said the 34-year-old, who started his career on the books at Ipswich Town and also played for Dagenham and Redbridge.

“We had some great success, winning a couple of promotions, including a league title, and also the Essex Senior Cup. I loved it there and am proud to be among their top appearance-makers.

“They’re also my home-town club.

“I grew up there, so it was always a real pleasure to pull on the shirt.

“It’ll be good to come up against them at the weekend.

“They’ve still got some very good players and will bring a strong side.

“It’s going to be a tough start to pre-season but good to kick-off with a tough test.”