1874 Co-Manager Wayne Goodison hails “fully deserved,” promotion as our invitation for upward movement has been accepted.
After finishing first in the Points Per Game table and meeting the criteria for upward movement, our Co-Manager Wayne Goodison revealed he is “delighted,” to see the club move into the Northern Premier League.
He said: “I’m delighted that the restructure has gone ahead, and I’m delighted that the club is being upwardly moved not just for ourselves but the players and fans as well.
“The players were only points away from winning the league title and they had that snatched away from them in the 19/20 season.
“Let’s be straight about it we won the league by 12 points if you follow the points per game and to have that taken away and not acknowledged was hard for the players.
“We dealt with it the best we could but it’s very rare that something happens like that in a players career.
“We fully deserve it, and it means a lot to everybody at the club. Next season us and many other clubs can go to a new step and visit new grounds and gain new experiences.
Despite managing the club to success alongside Paul Bowyer, Wayne was quick to heap praise onto the players for their hard work during their tenure.
“Me and Paul are actually a really small part of it because what we do is largely governed by the players.
“I’ve said it before we’ve got good players here and we knew that from day one when we took over.
“It’s nice as a coach when you have a squad with such a great ability and attitude.
“If we didn’t have the players we have, we wouldn’t play the way we do or be as successful.
“The players dedication and effort has never been in question and this is a great moment for all of them.
Across the 19/20 and 20/21 seasons we saw some outstanding performances and Wayne highlighted it was our victory away against Ashton Athletic was the moment he believed we could get promoted.
“There’s many games such as Longridge at home and the two games versus Charnock Richard where from a footballing perspective me and Bow would both sit there and really enjoy watching them play.
“The standout moment for me was away at Ashton Athletic where Scott was sent off completely unjustly and the way the players responded and handled that game made me think we’ve got something here.
“Maybe from a footballing perspective it wasn’t fantastic, but they dug in and played the game superbly against an Ashton side which were challenging at the time as well.
As preparations begin for the 2021/22 campaign, Wayne added he believes that they can be “just as competitive” in the league above as we have been in the North West Counties.
“I think if the players are right and they reach the performance levels we know they are capable of, then there’s no reason why they can’t be just as competitive in the league above as we have been in the Counties.
“I’ve seen enough games in the league above to make that judgement and that’s not to say we’ll be top of the league, but we will be competitive.
“We under no illusions it’s a big step up for the club and that’s why we’re trying to get as prepared as we can as early as we can.
In a message to our fans Wayne thanked everybody involved in the club for their continued support especially throughout the past year.
“The players and me and Bow have been speaking about how great it will be to have our fans back.
“It was a big miss during the few games we played when football returned and with no disrespect to other clubs, but it impacted us quite a lot because of the large support we get.
“I hope that restrictions ease so we can get fans back for pre-season but especially for the Macron Cup final so we can put on a great performance for the supporters and win them another trophy.
“I know it affected a lot of supporters by having their matchdays change even to the extent of where you can stand, and I know some couldn’t be there through isolation, but I thank everyone for standing by us all through that period.
“I’m sure like me they’re excited about going up a division and hopefully it’ll be a lot of fun for us all!”
Make sure to keep your eyes peeled on social media and the website to see the announcement of our pre-season fixtures in the coming days!