Colls Clinch Promotion
Mon 6th April 2015 | Atherton Collieries | By Ian Templeman
Congratulations to Atherton Collieries, who clinched promotion to the Premier Division this afternoon after their win in the Flatcap Derby at Atherton LR.
Now, the club can look forward to competing in the Premier Division next season, as well as chasing the championship title and playing in both the Reusch Division One Cup and the Men United Cup, to round off a hugely successful first season in charge for manager Michael Clegg.
The manager made the journey across town from Atherton LR to join Colls in the summer, and is naturally delighted at the way the season has unfolded.
“It's been a really enjoyable season, but there is still a lot of hard work to be done, and it's my job to keep the lads motivated”, he said.
“When I first took over, there were quite a few players who wanted to leave. The philosophy right from the start was to make the club as local as possible, and bring in as many local players as we could.
“That way, we could get players who wanted to play for their local club, rather than have players who just wanted to play in the North West Counties League for anyone who would have them.
“So we went into pre-season with about 25 players, and it became quickly apparent that we had a group that were bonding together. We had lads who had played together or against each other, and they all knew each other from the local scene, and before we knew it, it was coming together.
“The good thing about these lads is that they still don't believe they are a good side. They have got their feet on the floor and they are always working hard and looking to the next game.
“We want to kick on now and there are records to chase. Mark Battersby wants to get a goalscoring record, and I think the best record of a team that has won the league is drawing two and losing two games.
“We have a couple of local derbies in there as well, games we don't want to lose, so there is plenty to go at in the next few weeks”.
Colls Clinch Promotion
Mon 6th April 2015 | Atherton Collieries
By Ian Templeman
Congratulations to Atherton Collieries, who clinched promotion to the Premier Division this afternoon after their win in the Flatcap Derby at Atherton LR.
Now, the club can look forward to competing in the Premier Division next season, as well as chasing the championship title and playing in both the Reusch Division One Cup and the Men United Cup, to round off a hugely successful first season in charge for manager Michael Clegg.
The manager made the journey across town from Atherton LR to join Colls in the summer, and is naturally delighted at the way the season has unfolded.
“It's been a really enjoyable season, but there is still a lot of hard work to be done, and it's my job to keep the lads motivated”, he said.
“When I first took over, there were quite a few players who wanted to leave. The philosophy right from the start was to make the club as local as possible, and bring in as many local players as we could.
“That way, we could get players who wanted to play for their local club, rather than have players who just wanted to play in the North West Counties League for anyone who would have them.
“So we went into pre-season with about 25 players, and it became quickly apparent that we had a group that were bonding together. We had lads who had played together or against each other, and they all knew each other from the local scene, and before we knew it, it was coming together.
“The good thing about these lads is that they still don't believe they are a good side. They have got their feet on the floor and they are always working hard and looking to the next game.
“We want to kick on now and there are records to chase. Mark Battersby wants to get a goalscoring record, and I think the best record of a team that has won the league is drawing two and losing two games.
“We have a couple of local derbies in there as well, games we don't want to lose, so there is plenty to go at in the next few weeks”.
