SIMON’S LEADING A CELTIC MISSION
SIMON HAWORTH is already starting to put smiles back on faces at Stalybridge Celtic – now he’s hoping a gallant FA Trophy run could leave fans beaming.
The famous old club from Bower Fold has found itself on a slippery slope in recent seasons with relegation to the Evo-Stik Premier very nearly followed by an unceremonious slip into Step 4 last season under boss Steve Burr.
Now, thanks to a rebuild under rookie Haworth, Celtic are beginning to turn the tables and looking to write another page in the club’s history books.
This week, they take on a promotion rival in Nantwich Town as they look to embark on an FA Trophy giantkilling, and former Welsh international Haworth knows just how important a good cup run could be for a club back on the up.
“It’s a big game for us,” said the 41-year-old former Wigan and Tranmere striker, who joined the club from Clitheroe back in May. “We have come in to take the club in a different direction and the cup competitions are important for us.
“The first few months have been challenging but I’m delighted with the start we’ve made. We had to cut the budget by 35-40 per cent and cut contracted players, giving the power back to the club.
“We then turned to a young, hungry breed of player to match the ambitions of ours in the hope of building something for the future and bringing the fans back.
“If I’m honest, it’s come together a bit quicker than we expected as the original plan was to simply steady the ship and use this first season as a transitional period.
“We’ve got a great group of lads who are working hard for each other and, as a club, we embrace the chance the FA Trophy presents us.”
Haworth, though, will be hoping to achieve more success in the cup competitions as a manager than he did as a player as the Welshman, capped four times by his country, pointed out.
“I wasn’t very lucky in the cups,” he told. “At Coventry City we got to the FA Cup sixth round to play Sheffield United [in 1997-98] but we lost on penalties and I missed one. Hopefully that luck will change and the players can take positives from experiences such as that.”