HATTERS BOSS JIM BRIM FULL OF BELIEF

Switch boosts title prospects

JIM Gannon has set his sights on the National League North title after Stockport County allbut completed the move to full-time football.

Fifth last term, the Hatters lost in the play-offs as Salford and Harrogate snatched the two promotion places.

Both sides were fully professional and Gannon has spent the last month recruiting players also willing to train three to four times a week.

“When you finish fifth, people expect progress,” said the Irishman, now in his third stint at Edgeley Park. “We embrace that. We want to be either champions or top three.”

Key to that ambition is a summer overhaul that leaves just four true part-timers on Stockport’s books. By the start of next season, there are unlikely to be any.

Overhaul

“I said at the start of last year that only full-time teams would go up,” added Gannon. “I said it would be two of York, Kidderminster, Harrogate and Salford, and that’s exactly what happened.

“We saw first-hand what extra training can do. We put on a Monday session for those that wanted it and that accelerated from Christmas. I think it made a huge difference in our performances. Now we’re looking for everyone to buy into that.

“The professionalism of National North has gone up incredibly over the last couple of years, and it’s not enough to just keep pace. We have to be at the forefront.”

Recent signings Nyal Bell, Jake Kirby and former Guiseley skipper Ash Palmer are of the type of player Gannon wants.

“I would regard them all as fulltime,” he says. “They’re happy to train three days a week, but if we put in a fourth training session this year, they’d all want to be there.

“That probably goes for two thirds of our lads, and those who’ve signed two-year deals have all committed to going full-time next season.”

For Gannon, however, evolution is the mantra. Several parties are rumoured to be interested in buying Stockport, one of which is reportedly fronted by Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany.

But after the headlong tumble from League One and a decade of financial strife, Gannon says Stockport should focus on self-sufficiency before leaping into the embrace of a sugar daddy.

“It’s difficult to manage expectations,” he says. “There’s a perception out there of ‘the bigger the crowd, the bigger the budget’. But that’s not always the case.

“The likes of Salford, Fylde, Harrogate – they’ve all got money coming in that is beyond their natural ability to generate revenue.

“That’s fine if people are willing to invest. It can lead to great success. But it can also lead to misery if those people decide to take their money back out. We’ve seen that recently with Eastleigh and Gateshead, who are edging back after many years of moving forward.

“We don’t want that to happen here. The Stockport team I took into League One in 2008 was built on natural, organic growth.

“First you improve performances, then you gradually build up the budget, the gates, all the rest. You’re always looktypical ing to have firm foundations.

“Since I’ve been here, we’ve finished higher every season. We’ve moved from a lossmaking situation to a modest profit. The academy is back.

Foundations

“Going full-time – gradually – is the next step in that process. And we’re not buying a team. We’re building a team.”

Of Stockport’s 20 contracted players, three are academy graduates. Palmer, at 25, is the oldest new signing with four aged 22 or under.

“My Stockport team that won at Wembley had four 18year-olds playing and an average age of 21,” adds Gannon. “At Motherwell, I broke the Scottish record for a victory in Europe, 8-1 against a side from Albania. Five of the goalscorers were teenagers.

“I’m a huge believer in young players and, long-term, that’s where I really want to go with this side.”