Toolstation NCEL Premier Division
A club for local people: Brian Davey wants to get the locals back down at Harrogate Railway and leave a lasting legacy
Brian Davey is determined to get local people back through the gates at Harrogate Railway and leave a lasting legacy.
The former Railway player is the man charged with leading a renaissance of a club that has travelled through stormy water since the departure of Billy Miller, one of their greatest managers, in 2015.
Rail have had five managers, one relegation and one reprieve in three years. Crowds have dropped as well, but Davey hopes the line in the sand has been drawn at Station View.
“The club is starting again and that’s the enjoyment,” the former Knaresborough Town manager told Non League Yorkshire.
“It is about getting local people back to the club and see where we go.
“The aspirations are to make it enjoyable. It is going to tough to win matches, but what we need to do is get local people down here and make it enjoyable.
“That’s the message, but we must be patient as well.
“There’s been massive mistakes over the years, in terms of giving the job to anybody as such.
“What has happened is the manager has left and then so have the players.
“The club’s had to start over each time, but that won’t happen now.
“We have changed it. We will leave an under 19s side, an under 23s side and we will leave a first team so the next person will just carry on without players leaving.”
Harrogate Railway have been in decline since 2015 when Billy Miller, one of their greatest managers, left to join Tadcaster Albion
Returning Fatlum Ibrahimi was a fans’ favourite during the Billy Miller era
Davey and his assistants Craig Ogilvie and Simon Brooker, had a blank canvas after taking over from Marlon Adams.
After over a month of pre-season training, the trio have attracted some interesting names, including Fatlum Ibrahimi, a favourite during the Miller era, plus former Knaresborough captain Matt Duerden and Davey is pleased at where they are.
“We are further than we thought we would be at this stage in terms of recruitment because we only had three players left from last season,” he said.
“We went up to 50 and we’re now down to 28 and we have been using a lot of young lads like Steve Smith and Connor Thompson. I must say the young lads have come in and done really well.
“By the time pre-season finishes, we will have a good squad of 20 and hopefully we can bond them into a team that can push on.”
“We do have a good spine so far in the likes of Matt Duerden, Luke McCrum and Fatlum Ibrahimi.
“Their experience will help the young lads in the team.
“It is also important that we keep the likes of Matt Duerden and Luke McCrum fit because people outside the club will see the kind of players we are attracting and from that we will attract people.”