HILL’S CLIMB IS JUST REWARD!
BOSS Matt Hill hopes finally breaking a home hoodoo will help Stafford Rangers focus on a promising leap away from turbulent times.
Last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Stalybridge Celtic marked a first home league win for more than five months when Matlock Town were overcome by the same scoreline on September 18.
Despite that, Boro still boasted an 11-match unbeaten run ahead of yesterday’s showdown with title-chasing South Shields and sat ninth in Northern Premier League Premier Division but Hill, the former Bristol City, Preston North End and Sheffield United defender, acknowledged “relief” at ending the wait.
“We have always been the games,” he told The NLP. “There have been times when we should have been ahead but unfortunately moments sometimes take it away from you.
“We have very good players who want to get the ball down and play and, if we are honest, that is difficult on our surface.
“When we go away the surfaces are a lot better and we are able to play better football than we can at home. It is very bobbly and that makes it hard to get a rhythm in the games, we have to change our style slightly to accommodate that.
“It has taken a while for us to grasp it but you also have to give credit to the opposition. They make it difficult, sometimes change their formation and stop us from playing. A combination of both of those things has led to us not getting three points often enough at home.” While a top-half position at Step 3 is hardly the pinnacle of Stafford’s illustrious history, it does mark significant improvement. They sat rock bottom of the table and were hurtling towards relegation in each of the two seasons curtailed by Covid. Hill, below, who joined as a player in January 2019, stepped up from being assistant to Jody Banim to take charge of what proved to be the last two matches of 2020-21. Stafford had one point from eight games when the pandemic stopped play but he has turned the tide having been charged with the rebuild.
“My task was to make sure we were safe this season and not looking downwards, to change the mindset of the club and to focus on getting to better places,” he added.
Positivity
“We hadn’t even been looking over our shoulder, we were always at the bottom looking up to try to chase the next team but I would like to think the negativity has been clearing over the past month or two.
“We want more positivity but that only comes with wins and good performances which we are getting. We are enjoying the moments.”
Hill insists there are no expectations for a play-offs place but is encouraging his players to dream big.
“At the end of the season we will know where we are,” he added. “The lads are working ever so hard but if you want to get to those positions, you have to work even harder.
“The question is can we push on? I see no reason why not but there are a lot of factors, having everyone fit and available, a bit of luck sometimes.”