‘It’s time for Nash to make a splash’
PROGRESSION IS KEY FOR LAKELAND
ADAM LAKELAND is determined to do everything to make sure Curzon Ashton don’t go back to looking over their National League North shoulders.
Nash are gearing up for their eighth season at Step 2 on the back of a respectable 14th-place finish last season.
That came after Lakeland, 37, left Farsley Celtic – who he took from Step 3 to the same division – midway through the season to return to the club he was on the coaching staff of during John Flanagan’s successful era.
But the Nash chief admits last season petered out and, following some sweeping squad changes, is determined they fare even better this time out.
“The club is always striving to improve,” Lakeland told The NLP. “While we don’t have a big budget, the support we get from the board is fantastic. There’s nothing we want for in terms of the way we prepare, travel – the players get well looked after here. The facilities are fantastic.
“Of course we want to try and kick on if we can. For us, as a club, it’s our eighth season in a row now in this league. That’s a fantastic achievement by everybody who has played a part in that.
“We’ve also got to be mindful that more often than not, probably with the exception of last season and one other a few years ago, the club has been fighting relegation on more occasions than not.
“That’s something we must be mindful of. The highest finish the club could achieve is tenth or above – that’s the kind of target the board have set and one I feel is achievable provided we can perform with a level of consistency.
“That’s easier said than done. But we don’t want to be little old Curzon Ashton staving off relegation season upon season because if you fly too close to the trapdoor, eventually you’re going to go through it.
“We want to kick on and progress. I believe we’re going into it with a good squad and group of players. At the same time, we have to respect this is a very difficult division. First and foremost, we have to ensure we extend our run in it.”
Targeting more goals and pace, Lakeland is happy with the mix of youth and experience that includes former Step 1 players like Sam Walker and ex-Altrincham pair Josh Hancock and Connor Hampson.
Consistency is high on the to-do list and Lakeland hopes a good pre-season will help that as they look for a non-negotiable component of team spirit.
“It’s massive,” he said. “Particularly for clubs like us in such a competitive division. We need everybody on the same page. We need everybody giving their all for the club and one another. Without that, we’ve no chance of success.
“I don’t think it matters what level you’re at, you can’t just throw the best players together and get a winning formula. It’s usually the best teams that do well.
“We’ve done the bulk of our recruitment early. We’ve now got a full six weeks together to get fit and organised and develop that culture and team spirit.
“I know we’ve brought in some quality and I feel if we can do that, we can go and have a good season.”
A leadership group of senior players will help that too with Lakeland excited about the challenge ahead.
“It’s a brilliant division,” he added. “The challenges are each and every game.
“A big difference I want to see from us this season is consistency in performances.
“As a team and individually, if we can achieve that we will give ourselves a chance of being competitive.”