Ambitious Knaresborough Town manager Brian Davey and his captain Matt Duerden with the NCEL League Cup trophy
Brian Davey plans to have a well-deserved “rest” first before beginning to plot Knaresborough Town’s promotion assault next season.
The busy April schedule may have taken its toll, but it has not dampened Davey’s ambition.
Nine days after Knaresborough’s Toolstation NCEL League Cup triumph at Valley Parade, Davey has confirmed that he wants to add another chapter to his glory-laden reign in charge at Manse Lane.
Davey has guided the club all the way from the West Yorkshire League to Division One of the NCEL and he is aiming to lead them into the Premier Division by next April.
“We have kept saying since I took over six years ago that we want to keep improving every year,” he said.
“We started at the bottom of the West Yorkshire League, got to the top of it and won it. We won the County Cup, came into this league (NCEL) and the League Cup is our first piece of silverware at this level.
“We think we can do well at this level. We finished sixth in the league and it has been a fantastic season for everybody at the club.
“We wanted to finish higher than eighth and we finished sixth. Next year the plan is to try and get promotion.
“With the success that we are getting and the crowds that we are getting, I don’t think we’re far off.”
Knaresborough will be able to compete in the FA Cup for the first time next season after their sixth placed finish which was earned due to a fantastic run of form from February onwards.
It is a period that Davey takes a lot of pride from. Knaresborough beat the likes of Pontefract, Clipstone and spoiled Shaw Lane Aquaforce’s promotion party by scoring a 99th minute equaliser in the 2-2 draw.
Davey added: “It was brilliant (the second half of the season).
“We lost once in the last 16 games – to Emley and to be fair we were 1-0 down and we missed a penalty.
“You can’t win them all, but it got to the stage at the end of the season where we were turning up and not playing well but still winning games.
“We have to keep that momentum going for next season. We need to bring three or four in, whilst keeping the squad we have got. We just have to take it onto the next level.”