Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
Mark Askwith (left) and Spencer Fearn (right) are set to lead Maltby to their highest league finish in nearly 20 years
Spencer Fearn and Mark Askwith have already begun planning their attempt to raise the bar even higher at Maltby Main next season.
Maltby are on course for their best league finish since the 1997/98 after a positive first campaign under Fearn and Askwith, who have ensured that their perennial strugglers tag has gone.
Finishing as high as sixth is still a realistic aim for Maltby.
“I think it is the best Maltby team there has been for a few years,” Fearn told Non League Yorkshire. “I know the record is sixth in the Premier Division 20 years ago, but the aim for us was always mid-table and seeing where we go.
“It is always nice to have the points on the board, but with the games-in-hand we could always get to eighth or ninth which would be great for the club. We’ve done everything we set out to do. We’ve had the best FA Vase run for 20 years, we did well in the FA Cup and it has been a big learning curve for myself and Mark.
“We’re already started to think about next season. We know what we want and where we need to strengthen. We have a good group of lads here and we want to hang onto them. There’s a great team spirit here and all the lads will run through brick walls for each other.
“We’re going to finish around mid-table this time around and its about how we recruit in the summer.”
Former Stockport County vice-chairman Fearn and Askwith were appointed last year after a successful stint at the helm of Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League side Joker.
The pair got off to a good start with early league victories and runs in the FA Cup and Vase. There was a brief stutter before and just after Christmas, an influx of new players ended the poor run. Before last Saturday’s narrow defeat at Handsworth, Maltby had won five straight league matches. Main got back to winning ways on Tuesday night by winning at local rivals Parkgate. Fearn believes the players deserve the praise for the turnaround in fortunes since Christmas.
“We’ve made massive progress this season,” he added. “Myself and Mark in the six months were new to this level and initially we had a lot of local lads from Rotherham. We’ve since gone further afield and we’ve got new relationships with Gainsborough Trinity and we have two of their bright young stars playing for us.
“We have searched far and wide and we have improved our fitness levels because after Christmas we had a defeat at Nostell which was a horror show. I think the lads had too much Christmas pudding then.
“We then lost 5-1 in the game after that so we have gone back to basics. We have changed our formation, our shape and got them fitter. Credit to them, at training on Thursday we had 17 out of 19 of the squad there and that’s because one was working in Scotland and the other in London.
“The commitment of the lads is the reason for the improvement.”
Maltby host stuttering title-chasing Worksop Town tomorrow.