North Gawber manager Dave Simms says the memory of founder and first team manager Nicholas Bedford is the driving force for his players when they step out onto the field.
Mr Bedford built up North Gawber into a strong Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League club and had developed the junior section as well. He passed away in late 2015.
Gawber won the treble in 2019 after winning the Premier Division, the League Cup and the Sheffield & Hallamshire Senior Cup and Simms says the bond between his players is huge.
“We have come a long way as a club in the last few years,” Simms told Non League Yorkshire.
“In 2015 our founder and manager Nicholas Bedford was tragically killed and it sent shockwaves throughout the whole community.
“We had to reconsolidate as a club and I took over as manager with Nicholas’ backroom staff and we started to build the club up again because his death had a massive effect.
“Nicholas is always in the back of our minds. His son (Jake) still plays for the team and probably 75% of the team are lads he brought into the club.
“We play with his name on the back of the shirts so everything we do and achieve is dedicated to his memory.
“I’m proud and so are the players, the volunteers that the hard work we have put in has paid off.
“We have had phenomenal success in a short space of time. We won everything in one season (2018/19) and we made history which was totally beyond our expectations.
“We had recruited well and we had said ‘let’s have a good go at it’ and obviously the rest is history. I mean, winning the league was the priority, but the success we have had is fantastic in my opinion.
“It is a tough dressing room to come into as it is very close knit as 75% were there when Nicholas formed the club.
“I always say this and this is no disrespect to the rest of the clubs in the league, but nobody has got what we have got.
“We have 18 lads who will fight for everything, every ball and to the end. When we won the league there were games we won in the last few minutes.
“We’ve a never-say-die attitude and the fight, the passion and commitment is second to none and that is what got us through that season when we were successful.
“We’ve still got that desire and will to win. We’re a band of brothers so to speak.”
Because of the pandemic Gawber remain the holders of the League Cup which began last Saturday and Simms admits he wants his men to retain it.
“I’d like to stick my neck on the line as holders and say we’re aiming to win it,” he said.
“It is the first trophy we won as a group together albeit it was nearly three years ago now.
“We want to defend our trophy. We’re not looking any lower than that.
“We want to put up a good defence as holders of the trophy.”
Gawber started their defence of their trophy with the Group B 0-0 draw with Handsworth – a game Simms said the lack of match fitness for the both sides showed.
“It had a pre-season friendly kind of tempo to it,” he said.
“We started pretty well with a high energy, but with our fitness levels it tolled on us and the game petered out into a typical pre-season game.
“We created a few chances in the first half and probably could have scored a couple.
“We didn’t really create much in the second half. They had a good chance, but a draw was a fair result.”
Although Simms openly admits he wants to win the competition, he joins the list of managers who agree the League Cup is more about the social benefits to players.
“It is about getting people out of the house,” he said.
“Obviously I want to win any competition, winning is a massive driver for me and the club.
“At the moment getting people back playing is good for their mental health.
“Some lads live for football so getting them back playing and seeing their friends again and having the banter is massive.
“We’re just glad to be playing again.
“It was a brilliant idea of the league’s to get it going.
“Saturday gave everyone a massive boost after all the rubbish that has happened during this pandemic.
“I was a big advocate of getting it going because if we hadn’t we would have had another three months of no training and players would have lost interest and the game would lose some.
“Some would have found other interests.”