NPL Division One East
Craig Rouse views Pontefract Collieries’ 2021/22 season as a successful one as his club have made huge strides on-and-off-the-pitch.
Pontefract endured a sticky opening to their league campaign, but they recovered to finish on high note in front of rising crowds.
The Colls also pushed National League outfit FC Halifax Town all the way in the unforgettable and epic FA Cup fourth qualifying round battle.
“We look back on it in a positive way,” Rouse told Non League Yorkshire.
“I was probably impatient in myself in expecting to come in and turn things around and be higher up the table.
“The league campaign didn’t get off to the start we had hoped.
“With the FA Cup there were lots of positives in that.
“I might sound like a broken record by going on about how good it was for us and how good it was for the club.
“(The Halifax game) will probably be remembered for years.
“Ultimately (the season) has been a success as it has put the club on a decent footing.
“What I want to do is draw a line on it.
“That’s history and we have to focus on what is in front of us.”
Growing the fan-base was a key element of Rouse’s vision for Pontefract when he returned to replace Andy Monkhouse way back in January 2021.
The Colls took over 500 fans to the Halifax replay and many have remained as supporters.
“From the FA Cup game there is supporters who came as a one-off but have stayed around and watched us home and away,” he said.
“We came back to regrow the whole club and that was the remit I was given.
“It is a club close to my heart and I have a close connection with it because of what I have done as a player and staff member.
“Because football moves in cycles, one of the things we wanted to make sure was that when our time is up, the club is in a much better position than when we found it.
“That’s all we can do.
“We feel we have made good strides with growing the crowds and breaking the club’s FA Cup record.
“We have stabilised the club in the Division so all the boxes of what was expected of us have been ticked and more.
“As with everyone in football we have ambition and we want to be competitive and kick on and challenge higher up the table next season.”
Rouse is not publicly setting a firm objective for next season, but he does not want deja-vu.
“We want to make sure we push ourselves up the league table,” he said.
“You look at where we came from in December to where we finished, the form was really good.
“It was still not quite what we wanted or what we would have liked.
“If we had repeated that form over the course of the season we’d have been in and around the play-offs mix.
“For us we want to make sure we get out of the blocks.
“The sole focus will be on making sure we put points on the board early and ease the tension and pressure.
“Once you do that teams gather momentum and looking at the finished table, the top sides – Liversedge and Marske – both got off to flying starts.
“The teams who got into the play-offs were in there for most of the season.
“It is important to get off to a bright start.”