Northern League Division One
Redcar Athletic manager Steve Connolly says his club’s first campaign in the top flight of the Northern League has gone well.
Redcar, who beat Hemsworth Miners Welfare in the FA Cup in August, have enjoyed a meteoric rise since winning promotion out of Step 7 in 2018.
Redcar are 15th with 38 points, well clear of the relegation zone and Connolly is pleased.
“We have had a really dismal over the Christmas period and we always planned for that,” Connolly told Non League Yorkshire.
“We knew we would hit a sticky patch and we knew we would pick up some wins and surprise a few because teams don’t know us.
“Compared to where we are and where we thought we would be, I’d say we’re on track.
“Realistically with eight games to go I’m still hopeful of breaking the 40 point barrier in our first season which would be a decent achievement.
“There is a wee bit of me that looks back at some of the points we have dropped and thinks ‘what if’.
“The target for the club this season was to consolidate and make sure we stayed in the league and hopefully that’s what we are going to do.”
Connolly’s side is made up with several players who have been around since their Step 7 days.
But attracting new players last summer was hard so Connolly and his management team drafted in youth.
They have done well but Connolly won’t be resting on his laurels and he expects recruitment in pre-season to be less difficult now Redcar are established in the Northern League top flight.
“This is my ninth season at the club and we started mid-table in Step 7 when I took over and this has been the most difficult season to recruit,” he said.
“Quite simply, what Step 5 and 4 clubs can offer and the travel, we do struggle a little bit.
“It is probably understandable from a players point of view because they are probably looking at us as the new-boys and thinking ‘do we want to take a risk’?
“Now we have proven ourselves and shown we can compete, I’m hoping this pre-season will be a bit easier for us to recruit and the conversations will be easier.
“I’ll be really honest, there were a few players who wouldn’t even talk to us.
“Some of that fear of coming to a newly-promoted side will pass.
“We have taken a few young players who have come out of the academy system and through our reserves.
“We knew some games would be tough for them but we knew where we were at.
“The fact that recruitment was tough, it meant we had to take a chance on some of these young lads and give them a year’s experience in the league.
“The hope is that they are stronger and more rounded players for next season.
“That said, we will look to strengthen and look to improve because we don’t want to sit still and settle for just staying in the league.”
Results like the one they enjoyed last Saturday will help too.
Redcar stunned runaway leaders Consett by claiming a 2-1 victory on their turf – a result Connolly said was exceptional.
“When you consider the game was reversed less than 24 hours before kick off because our pitch was waterlogged, that makes it even more impressive,” he said.
“A positive start and early goal helped and the lads executed the game-plan pretty much perfectly bar the goal we conceded.
“Had we done that more recently we’d have picked up more wins.
“It is certainly a game people even at our club didn’t expect us to win.
“Consett proved their quality last season with a strong league campaign and by doing brilliantly getting to the FA Vase.
“The fact we’re a newly-promoted side, it is fair to say no-one expected us to go there and win.
“Of course (I’d rank it as one of the best wins of the season).
“As the new-boys every away win is a fantastic win.
“Ashington away on a midweek was a bit special but to beat the league leaders at home was fantastic.”
Results like the Consett win will certainly help during those recruitment conversations.
Looking to the future, Connolly out-lined the vision for the club.
“The club and the management team have progressed together in the last nine years,” he said.
“Alongside the success on-the-pitch, the committee have continued with the success off-the-pitch with the the infrastructure around the ground.
“The experience for a spectator is fantastic.
“We’re a welcoming club and we have a great playing surface as our groundsman does a great job.
“It has been a real team effort and realistically the club aspirations are to continue to progress each season, whether that’s a new stand, an improved spectator experience, a cup run and I’m sure at some point we’ll talk about future promotions.
“Realistically we’re getting into some serious football.
“Compared to the resources some clubs have, we’re just not there yet.
“Next season’s target is just to improve on this season’s finish.
“If we’re finishing next season cemented in the top half of the table, I think that would be amazing.
“Beyond that, it is a bit early to tell.
“We’ve just made that step into Step 5 and to be honest it is quite a jump from Step 6.
“Even in our Division, there’s a handful of clubs at the top end that are almost in their own mini Division.
“They are so far developed compared to some of us.”
Crowds regularly hit over 200 at Redcar and Connolly has been humbled by the attendance of people from all parts of the country.
“We attract groundhoppers from Torquay to Aberdeen and many from Yorkshire,” he said.
“All we ask if anyone fancies a trip to Redcar, let us know so we can give them a proper welcome.
“The volunteers at the club really go out of their way to make people welcome.”
Redcar visit Billington Town on Friday night.