By Jon Couch, Sam Elliott and Matt Bishop
Hartley Wintney
JOINT boss Anthony Millerick has warned Hartley Wintney they can’t rest on their laurels as they look to establish themselves as a Step 4 club.
The Row won promotion to the Evo-Stik Southern Central division at the second time of asking after storming to back-to-back Combined Counties League titles.
But despite finally completing the ground grading work which denied them promotion first time round, Millerick says the Hampshire village club can’t afford to look back if they are to fulfil their lofty ambitions.
“There has been a real focus on getting things right,” Millerick told The NLP, “There has been a huge amount of work carried out at the club both on and off the pitch, and that’s continuing. Everyone has been superb.
“But now the ambition of winning promotion has been achieved it’s important we don’t stand still. We need to start afresh, stay hungry and not rest on our laurels.
“Being able to sustain ourselves as a Step 4 club is a gradual process, it won’t happen overnight. A top half finish in our first season will be a good platform to build on.”
One thing’s for sure, Millerick and co-boss Dan Brownlee haven’t stood still in their bid to further strengthen their Row squad.
Despite allowing striker Ross Cook to join neighbours Fleet Town and losing influential midfielder Steve Laidler to a cruciate ligament injury, they have added striker Paul Hodges from Abbey Rangers and Army full-back Ben Greenwood to the ranks.
“We’ve beaten multiple Step 3 and 4 clubs in pre-season and various cup games over the last couple of seasons so we know the standard to expect,” Millerick added.
“We go in with no trepidation and no fear, we know what we are about.”
Moneyfields
MONEYFIELDS‘ promotion to the Southern League is a culmination of years of hard graft by a number of unsung heroes – and they’ve almost forgotten they were stipped of their title three days after winning it.
Going into the Evo-Stik South East, chairman Paul Gregory believes they are well prepared for the step up after a number of near misses.
But it was a rocky end to last season which saw the leaders lose the title and finish in second after being found guilty of playing an ineligible player back at the start of 2017.
Gregory said it was “unfair and a travesty” but were still promoted in second place with new champions Portland United not ready to go up.
The Moneys have moved on from that and want to draw a line under the anger they felt of finding out they weren’t league champions days after popping champagne corks.
They begin at home to Kempston Rovers next weekend and the chairman says the fact they open up in front of their hard working volunteers that made their promotion happen means a lot.
“We have been striving for promotion to the next level for a long time so I am extremely proud of efforts from all of the players and staff throughout last season,” he said.
“But I’m proud of others at the club too. If it wasn’t for all of these people giving up their free time clubs like ours would never survive let alone achieve promotion. It means everything for our club to finally reach this level it’s been a long time coming.
“We are currently planning a whole new complex on our existing ground that hopefully will complement our achievements on the field in the coming years.”
Gregory says his players are coming up with real confidence and shouldn’t be underestimated at Step 4.
“We enter our new league with anticipation and excitement,” he added. “We have bought in some great new players to go with the excellent squad that we already have and feel we are equipped for this step up.
“I really feel we now have a very good side that will be able to compete at this level and even though we are the new boys I would to think we could push for a top ten finish.”
Thame United
JUST 11 years ago, Thame United were homeless, had suffered consecutive relegations and were staring into the abyss, but they’re now well and truly back – and raring to ahead of the Step 4 campaign.
After cantering to the Hellenic Premier League title last season – a campaign Thame chairman Jake Collinge likens to Leicester City’s unforgettable Premier League title win – the Oxfordshire club start their assault on the Southern League at Chalfont St Peter.
“We are not there to make-up the numbers.” Collinge told The NLP. “We have fostered something of a winning habit and, once you’ve got that, you don’t want to lose it.
“We’ll be looking to carry on the momentum, and by adding to the squad players who have Southern League experience, we are hopefully well equipped to do just that.
“If we are pushing for the play-offs then I will be extremely happy.”
While a play-off push would be impressive, the chairman is just delighted to still have a club following those harrowing years in the mid-noughties.
Collinge said: “When I took on the role of chairman 11 years ago it was in the first season following being made homeless and, to be honest, football did not matter.
“What did matter was maintaining a club in the name of Thame United.
“Once we set the foundations, the challenge we set ourselves – and one that our manager, Mark West, was happy to accept – was a return to Thame and a return to the Southern League in a decade. I have forgiven him for taking a season longer than we agreed!”
