Well another season is over but things are very different from the previous six years I’ve had at the club. After being asked to take charge of the first team at the end of October it was clear there was a lot of work to do with changing a culture that was happy to accept second best and was content to just write off any defeats and say ‘lets move on to the next game’. I hate that sort of attitude. Yes, everyone will lose games but generally they are the games that you learn most about your team. It wasn’t the ability of the squad that was in question, as proven by the fact we only brought four players in, but it was the environment and the general attitude around the place. It was like everybody was in a bubble of just going through the motions so it had to change. It was clear I needed the right people to work with so getting Woody and Chris at such notice was a real bonus, especially given their links to the club already. From the outset the dressing room was virtually a different place and a more professional and organised approach got us some good early results at tough places like Consett, West Auckland and Washington.
Having been given the job permanently before our first home game against Bedlington in the cup gave the players a real focus now things were settled and we produced a fantastic performance to win our first cup match of the season scoring some great goals in the process. We changed our style to play more possession football to try and control games more and ultimately become tougher to beat. We backed up the cup win with an excellent result at home to Penrith as the players passed a real physical test to show we had the metal and the attitude to dig in when needed. It was then down to earth with a bump at struggling Guisborough where ironically we played the best football I’ve seen this season in that opening 30 minutes, it certainly impressed the watching Thibault Charmey as we signed him not long after, but we still lost as they turned it around. This sparked a mini slump but we were operating the next few games without a recognised centre forward and although we brought in Liam Brooks he was somewhat unfairly thrown in at the deep end. We went five without a win but after our loss at Sunderland RCA on 17th December, who would’ve guessed we were only to lose one more league game for the remainder of the season and that was to eventual runners up and FA Vase holders Morpeth Town. We went out of the league cup at Shildon and that was probably the only occasion where I can say we were ragged and out of sorts during my spell.
Then came Ryhope CW away where the last 20 minutes has probably defined the rest of the season. 4-1 down on that occasion, a loss could’ve triggered something very negative but I firmly believe the complete shake up of removing all three forwards and replacing them with the three youngsters totally changed the game and the season. I remember saying after the 4-4 draw that it wasn’t good enough but lets build on the good feeling the comeback created. T-Bo later tweeted to say something on the lines of ‘lets stay unbeaten for the last 10 games’. I looked at the fixtures and felt if we could beat Bishops in the next game, we may have a chance to do just that. I have to say we were brilliant in the second half in that game as we now had the belief which was maybe the missing ingredient in all the work we were producing. We backed it up with another last minute goal and winner against Dunston and as the confidence grew more player were coming to the fore.
Young Kyle Patton was flying and Robbo was scoring so we had a threat to go with a superb developing centre half partnership between Ross and Cal Anderson not to mention Tom Flynn who was in fine form protecting our goal. Out the last six games I felt Dunston away was pivotal as the management team and players worked in perfect tandem tactically to defend a goal lead with no keeper and ten men for a whole half. Nobody should underestimate what the players delivered that day! We now had Consett in our sights after over-hauling Bishops and all these little targets kept the players motivated and hungry and we took maximum points in the last three games to secure an improbable 6th place finish. A great achievement from everyone and we now look forward to taking the momentum into next season.
Finally, I’d like to thank all the staff, players and especially the fans for their work and support since we took over. Hopefully the good feeling continues. Enjoy the summer!
Marc
