MATT Dimbylow insists Britain’s seven-a-side cerebral palsy team are set to turn a few heads when the London 2012 Paralympics get underway.

Dimbylow and Co will come into London 2012 off the back of an impressive showing at the Paralympic World Cup in Manchester in May where they claimed silver.

But on the biggest international stage they have struggled, finishing 10th as England at last year’s World Championships and only making the quarter-finals at the Europeans in 2010.

But Stourport-raised Dimbylow, who was part of the squad for the Beijing Games in 2008, is confident that with the right improvements Britain can more than match the world’s best in London.

“People seem more aware of the Games and of our sport now than ever before, and that’s fantastic. It’s a really exciting time,” he said.

“You never know what can happen, but we’re confident about how we’re progressing as a team, and we think we could surprise a few people this summer.

“Our group is tough, but probably not as hard as the other one, so hopefully we can make it into the semi-finals and battle for a medal.

“Without a doubt we’ve moved forward as a team in the last few months, and that’s reflected in how we’ve performed in our matches.

“We’re at a slight disadvantage as, unlike the teams we’ll be facing, we’re only part-time. “But we’re spending twice as much time together now than we did before, which can only be a good thing.

“We’ve never had the experience of going to a Games having had this much time to train as a group, so it’ll be interesting to see what difference it makes.”

Competing in front of a home crowd is another boost Dimbylow is hoping will push Britain on in their bid to finish with a medal.

Britain are set to line up against Brazil in their first group game of London 2012 on Saturday, September 1 before facing Ukraine and then the USA.

And the 41-year-old admits that he and his team-mates will need to make a strong start to the tournament if they are to have any chance of upsetting the odds.

“The fact we’re going to be competing on home turf is absolutely huge,” he added. “We’re always motivated, but having that in the back of your mind gives you extra focus.

“We’ve got to get off to a good start. “If we can do that and the crowd get behind us, we might be able to get out of the group and then anyone can win.”

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