Duncan Bray believes Pontefract Collieries can finish third in the Toolstation NCEL Division One table
Joint manager Duncan Bray admits Pontefract Collieries have fallen short of their promotion target, but he has set his sights on recording the club’s highest finish since 2003.
Pontefract conceded defeat in their bid for promotion on Saturday following the 1-0 loss to Shaw Lane Aquaforce and now Bray and Nicky Handley are hoping to overtake Cleethorpes Town in the Toolstation NCEL Division One table.
The requirement for the season was a return to Premier Division after an absence of 15 years and Bray knows why Ponte haven’t made the grade.
“I think we have been fifth for the last three years and it’s mine and Nick’s first year and I still think we can finish third,” he said.
“I think we’re capable of finishing third and can catch Cleethorpes.
“We dominated them in every aspect of the game last Wednesday and they’re hitting a bad run of form at the wrong time so I think we can get third spot.
“I don’t think third is good enough because when we started out at the start of the season, our aim was to win promotion – simple as.
“In that respective we have failed, but when you look at our start in the first two months of the season, we were appalling.
“We didn’t have a good enough squad and after two months we were always chasing.
“I think we went October, November, December and January unbeaten – 17 games and four months unbeaten so it just goes to show that when we got the lads in that we wanted, if we had started the season better we would have been well clear at the top.
“Our pre-season was decent, but it took us three or four months to get the lads we wanted.”
Bray and Handley, who replaced former Leeds United captain Brendan Ormsby at the helm in December 2012, have yet to agree with the club that they will be in charge next season.
But, if given the chance, the pair have already identified what is required for a title tilt.
“I’m looking for three players for next season to win the league next season,” he said.
“On Saturday the difference between us and Shaw Lane was that they brought on a striker (Ash Flynn) who has scored 30 goals this season.
“We have not got anyone in our squad who has scored 30 goals a season for the last three or four years. It is up to us to get that extra bit of quality and that’s where we’ll end up next year (at the top) if we do.”
The win for Shaw Lane put them in the driving seat for promotion and Bray believes Craig Elliott’s team will be playing in the Premier Division next season.
“Shaw Lane are nailed on (to win promotion),” he added.
“They have too much quality. They also have too much quality on the bench.
“Their bench is good enough to start in any team in the league. They have that kind of quality in depth that no-one else has got.”
Pontefract travel to Hall Road Rangers tomorrow night.