NOW I HAVE NO HYDE-ING PLACE
Goal ace Jake will ‘peak in 3 years’
JAKE Hyde believes he is getting better with age – and is predicting the next three years will be the best of his career.
The striker has enjoyed two fine seasons with Woking helping them to promotion from National League South before mounting an unlikely play-off push in the top-flight.
He scored 17 league goals this season and has been a key part of the club’s revival under manager Alan Dowson, who will be keen to re-sign him for the new campaign.
Hyde has played 130 times in the Football League for Barnet, York City and Stevenage but has enjoyed some of his best years in NonLeague and wants to keep making big strides forward.
“I’m more hungry for next season than I’ve ever been to keep proving what I’m capable of doing,” the personal trainer told The NLP, the day before his 30th birthday last week. “I’m now fitter and stronger than I’ve probably ever been in my career. It’s really exciting.
“Scoring 17 league goals last season with eight games to go, on average I’d have ended up with 22 or 23 goals which is a good return. Overall, I’m really happy with how it went.
“This is momentum I’ve been building over the last two years and seeing what works for me.”
Woking had been building momentum too before the season came to an end and scuppered their play-off chances.
The part-time Cards had beaten big-hitters Barrow, Harrogate Town, Yeovil Town, Solihull Moors, FC Halifax Town and Stockport County throughout the campaign and Hyde believes they’d have snuck into the top seven had it continued.
“Barnet had a lot of games to catch up but I felt we were the ones getting going with our performances and results,” he said. “We had some of the teams in and around the bottom and with our run I felt we would have nicked the spot, but obviously I’m going to be slightly biased.
“Overall we look at that season positively. The gaffer is a big believer in ‘little old Woking’ against these giants and he would use that as motivation.
“Woking isn’t actually a little club in the Non-League scene and has a fantastic fanbase. But he would love that we were part-time and coming up against pros who would have been staying in a hotel before the game and all that stuff, and we were here to upset them.
Tricks and traits
“As a group of lads we progressed again and we proved that to everyone. All year we were in and around it.”
Hyde quickly wrote himself into Woking folklore in his first season by scoring the goal at Swindon Town which took them into the FA Cup third round and a televised tie with Watford.
He scored another important winner in injury time of their play-off semi-final against Wealdstone – and won’t be short of offers this summer.
“I’m assessing my options,” he said. “Me and the gaffer have a fantastic relationship and we will be as honest as we can with each other.
“He knows I’ve got a burning ambition, as he does, to be in the Football League. The football has just started moving again and conversations are happening all the time. It is an exciting time.
“This year was the best I’ve felt in four or five years because I’ve looked after myself.
I feel like the older I’ll get the better I’ll get. You learn different tricks and traits, I feel like the next three years will be the best three years of my career.”