Toolstation NCEL Division One
Campion joint manager Lee Ashforth is looking forward to returning to Harrogate Railway for Saturday’s mouth-watering fixture between two of the top sides in the Division.
Ashforth served Railway for years in various capacities including manager between 2015 and 2016.
He makes the return trip to Railway with striker Marcus Day and Ashforth agrees it is an exciting contest.
“I spent a lot of many happy years as a player, assistant manager and even manager,” Ashforth told Non League Yorkshire.
“Even though it did go as well as manager for me at Harrogate Railway, it is a club I still have a lot of contacts at, particularly Dave Shepherd.
“I love Harrogate Railway and I want to see them do well.
“They gave me my first chance in management under Nigel Corner and it is a club I hold dear to my heart.
“I remember when I first joined Campion I was away for the game so I think I have only been back once and being in the dugout.
“I’m looking forward to going there.
“There’s added spice with Marcus Day and there’s players playing for Harrogate who played for me when we got relegated like Dan Thirkell, Mike Morris, Fatlum Ibrahimi.
“The fact Harrogate did so well last year and are doing well again this year shows they are probably one of the favourites for the league.
“We knew at the start of the season Harrogate were a team we have to keep an eye on because they set the standard.
“Mick has done a fantastic job over the last couple of years and he’s obviously a top manager, you can tell that by the results he gets and how he conducts himself.
“It will be good to go up against him and it will definitely be a test for us and maybe a marker to see where we are in the grand scheme of things after a good pre-season and a good start to the season.
“But no-one is getting relegated or promoted on Saturday, it is just another game.”
Campion’s unbeaten start to the campaign is sharp contrast to the difficulties they encountered in the North West Counties last season.
Campion were triumphant in the Yorkshire Trophy in pre-season and they have drawn with Brigg Town and beaten Athersley Rec, Nostell Miners Welfare and Dronfield Town.
Despite their positive results, Ashforth is staying level-headed.
“Yeah, we have started well,” he said.
“You don’t really include pre-season, nobody does but you look at the way we went through pre-season.
“We felt we did well and we had built a good side and we have started well.
“You look at the teams we have beaten and you don’t where they will finish so you don’t know if you have had four easy games, you don’t know.
“It is the old adage of taking each game as it comes and see what we will be will be.
“We said we wanted to be better than last year and so far we have been.
“There’s 34 games left yet so there’s a long way to go.”