Elliott praised by Aquaforce chairman

The happy couple: Craig Elliott and Shaw Lane chairman Craig Wood with the NCEL Premier Division trophy

Shaw Lane Aquaforce chairman Craig Wood has praised his manager Craig Elliott after the club’s Toolstation NCEL Premier Division title-winning campaign.

Since leaving Ossett Town to replace Simon Houghton in February 2014, Elliott has led Aquaforce to two consecutive promotions.

He has also guided them to the quarter-finals of the FA Vase.

Mr Wood told Non League Yorkshire: “I can’t praise Craig enough.

“He gambled when he stepped down two divisions to take on the job, leaving a comfortable position at Ossett where he was doing well.

“When he spoke to us, we outlined our ambition and it appealed to him. It a massive gamble for him though.

“It wasn’t a gamble for us because we knew what he had achieved in his career so it was a safe bet and a bit of a coup for us.

“He came in during the first season and did enough to get us promoted. Prior to Craig coming in we were slipping away so for Craig to come in and get us promoted with 13 games to go was massive.

“From then he has brought his own team in and what a blend of players he has brought in. There is a great spirit in the camp and they play as a team and not as individuals. That’s all credit to Craig and (assistants) Daz Smith and Lee Morris.

“I think we’ll struggle to hang onto Craig with the way things are going. How long is it going to be before the big clubs come sniffing?

“I hope Craig can look at where we are going and want to achieve and hopefully we can go forward as a team.”

At the start of the season, Elliott and his chairman never publicly said that they were chasing the title.

Both claimed that the aim was to be competitive at the top end and even after being crowned champions, Mr Wood insists that he has been taken by surprise.

He added: “I’m delighted and I can’t quite actually believe we have won it.

“It was always in the plan going forward to progress through this Division and I think we have perhaps done it quicker than I anticipated.

“Considering the competition in it, we sat down with Craig and looked at the budget, the players and I said to Craig ‘let’s see what we can do and have a go’.

“It was never said that we need to win this league, but it was said that we need to compete and be in the top five or six.

“We did that and as the season went on we realised we could compete with the very best in this league.”

Read more from the Aquaforce chairman in the next seven days.