Rix backs rebuilt Ecclesfield to surprise teams

EV2 Sheffield & Hallamshire County Senior League Premier Division 

New Ecclesfield Red Rose 1915 manager Chris Rix expects his side to spring a few surprises this season.

Ex-Yorkshire Main and Athersley Rec Development chief Rix was thrown in at the deep end a few weeks ago after Steve Adams’ reign came to an end after just two months.

Rix has managed to rally around and gather a competitive squad and he anticipates sides were under-estimate them.

“I think this year will be about building a foundation for next season,” Rix told Non League Yorkshire.

“Because I came in three weeks before the season, players had already signed for clubs so this year is about hopefully doing as well as last year which was seventh.

“But it is about building for next year but also maintaining what they did and stabilising at the same time.

“Stabilise as a County Senior Premier Division and make players think ‘despite what happened three weeks before the season started, they have a good outfit there’.

“We have some good young players and I’m always one who takes the view if they are good enough, they are old enough no matter what competition we are in.

“We’ll surprise teams because teams will expect us to be a new side who aren’t as well-drilled as other teams who have been together for three-or-four years.

“As long as lads give me 110% we’ll get results and we’ll be a tough side to break down and beat.

“I have young and hungry lads who have ambitions themselves of playing at a higher level and they have a showcase to do that because they can put in stand-out performances in a team that people don’t expect to do as well as we will do.”

The signs were not good for Ecclesfield when Adams, who had replaced Jon Wragg, left the club as Rix basically inherited an empty shell.

“I spoke to (secretary) Malcolm (Boswell) and he said ‘I ain’t going to fill you with rubbish’, you need to bring a team and do it fast because we have four players’,” he said.

“We had a training session the following week and there was six lads there.

“But then the following week we played Penistone Church Reserves in a friendly and I had 22 lads.

“The result didn’t do us justice as we went in front three times against an experienced side.”

Ecclesfield host Oughtibridge War Memorial this afternoon.