Former Dungannon Swifts and Coleraine defender has targets set on fighting at the top rather than bottom with Institute this season

The County Londonderry outfit finished the campaign sitting second bottom and were set to take on Ballymacash Rangers in order to preserve their second-flight status having been in the Premiership as recently as 2020.

Things are looking much brighter now with Kevin Deery, who led them to consecutive promotion play-offs in his first stint, back in charge and King says after last season’s wake up call their targets are set much higher.

"It gave us a perspective of how close the league is and how easy it is to go from being comfortable mid-table to being in danger at the bottom,” he said. “We now know we can't become settled anywhere in the league.

"It's something that will probably never happen again with the way it finished with appeals and things like that. It was one of those things that dragged on. It's better to put that to bed and look forward to the new season.

"People looking at it from the outside will see we finished second bottom last year and will think it's a big jump, but every season in the Championship is different.

"You get a fresh start and I know Portadown will have a strong team this year, but on our day we're good enough to beat anyone in the league.

"There's no reason why we can't aim high and see where we get to."

Deery has brought in a number of talented youngsters from Derry City – a club he spent 13 years at as a player – with teenagers Liam Mullan, Tiarnan McKinney and Mark Mbuli joining ahead of the new campaign.

Their additions, along with the five others that Deery has acquired, are helping them to play an exciting brand of football.

"We have a good squad,” added King. “We've a lot of young players with a few local Derry lads and a lot of good technical players in the team.

"We're trying to move the ball about and play through the lines, so he has brought in the right type of players for us to do that.

"They're a bit younger but we have a good mix of youth and experience with the likes of Burkey (Cormac Burke) and I have to put myself in that category of being more experienced now too!

"It's great to see the young lads playing with no fear and wanting to get on the ball."

King has previous Premiership experience having spent time with Glenavon, Coleraine and Dungannon Swifts following his return home from spells across the water at Oldham and Motherwell.

The 24-year-old has ambitions to test himself in the top-flight of Irish League football once again and knows a solid season at ‘Stute will only help towards achieving that goal.

"I have that ambition to play in the Premiership and I think I'm good enough to play in it again,” he said. “These things happen sometimes where you have to work hard and get your chance again.

"When I met with Kevin I mentioned it to him that I want to go back and play in the Premiership. The last three or four years the league has improved massively and is attracting a lot of attention so that's definitely an ambition."