CUCKOOS READY TO TAKE FLIGHT
Yaxley can target play-off position
AMBITIOUS Yaxley manager Andy Furnell wants his side to ditch their Southern League L-plates and put their foot on the gas in the coming campaign.
The Cambridgeshire side won the United Counties Premier in 2017-18 and have since eased their way into Step 4 football. They finished a creditable 11th in Southern Division One Central in 201819 and were eighth, just five points off the play-offs, when the last campaign was cut short in March.
It’s given Yaxley a solid platform upon which to build and Furnell believes they should have the play-offs in their sights next term.
“You are always looking for progression,” he told The NLP. “Stepping up as a village club, it was always going to be difficult, but we’ve proved we can compete at this level over the last couple of years. We are going to set our aims high and the play-offs are going to be the aim of everyone. If we improve, we will be close. If you keep on improving year on year, you don’t know where you will eventually get to.
Surprise
“We were gutted that last season stopped, but we start afresh and will hopefully get next season completed.”
The 43-yearold believes the Cuckoos have already learnt plenty from their Southern League experiences over the last two years.
“At Step 4, you get more players who have come out of professional clubs, they’ve had a football education,” explained the Yaxley born-andbred boss, who stepped up from player-assistant midway through the title-winning campaign. “You’ve got the fitness, diets – everyone is fit and strong. There’s a difference in the pace and intensity of the game. Teams will push and push for 90 minutes, they don’t give up. “It took us a bit by surprise at first, but last season we tried to be a bit more consistent and hard to break down. It’s about learning the league. Now we’re excited about this coming season.”
As for how his squad is shaping up in a competitive market, the former Soham Town Rangers player-manager is upbeat.
“We have got a few players in and it’s looking quite strong,” he said. “It’s quite a young side with a bit of experience.
Desperation
“It’s a very difficult catchment area. A lot of the clubs around Steps 3 and 4 are financially stronger, they are big clubs. It’s very difficult to compete for local-ish players.
“We have to do a bit of shopping around the area and it’s trying to find one or two gems each year. Sometimes you can’t keep them for long, but it can be a win-win for the player and the club.”
Something that has given Yaxley – and all clubs at Step 3 and below – a boost was the midweek news that fans can now be allowed in to watch pre-season matches.
“Who knows what will happen this season with everything that has gone on and with how clubs’ finances have been hit,” said Furnell, “but having fans back is massive.
“Clubs at our level rely on that source of income. If you take that away, there are still bills to pay. We have limited our outgoings as much as possible, but with zero income there’s only so long you can sustain it. There’s been a huge sigh of relief behind the scenes.
“It could be good timing for us as we’ve got a Peterbrough XI visiting on September 1 and Chelmsford City on September 5. Hopefully we’ll benefit from the desperation of people around the area to watch live football.”