The Non-League Football Paper

ROCKIN’ ROBINS BOBBIN’ ALONG!

- By Matt Badcock

BREAKFAST club, classroom for analysis meetings and a small garage kitted out with gym equipment – Altrincham are seeing the hard work of transition­ing to a full-time football club pay off.

One of NonLeague’s most traditiona­l and famous

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semi-profession­al

The game is up for the

players last summer 2009 Lions, squeezed

as they aim to keep out in a brutal, lastman-standing

competing in the beast second

that is Non-League’s

Test epic when South Africa’s top tier. replacemen­t fly Stalwarts half, Morne of Steyn, their kicked recent the rise home back from side to Step a 2-0 3 under series manager victory with Phil Parkinson a (50) last-minute and his penalty. trusty assistant Neil

Sorvel, It was were conceded given when emotional Ronan O’Gara sendoffs had last a season moment before of madness a remodelled when chasing squad arrived his own for high pre-season. kick and took out A the ten-game airborne unbeaten Springbok run scrum before half Tuesday’s Fourie du 1-0 Preez defeat without to title-chasing making any effort Chesterfie­ld to jump for has the btahlel mhimjusset­lfo.utside the

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nIeawn pMlacyGere­secihnana’sndsiwdeor­k on syhourldst­yhlaevoef pfelayread­ndtphaette­rns. wIot’rsswt owrkheednw, ellela.”ding 2218 Awfittehr asesvloewn stamritntu­ottehse camrpemaia­ginn,iSnogr,vtehlebtee­llieviesio­tnhey are mthaetcbhe­onfefifcit­isalo,fAtuhsetrc­ahlaiannge­s are rsehfeorwe­einSgt.uart Dickinson, was“Ictahlilne­dk coonstiost­edneccyidf­erom inspect dividuals who are starting – and consistenc­y in your starting XI – is the first point,” Sorvel said. “Eighty to ninety per cent have been the same over the last ten games and we’d not had that too much this season so being able to get the same personnel onto the park every week counts.

Principles

“And it’s the consistenc­y level from the players. We have access to all the data from the analysis platforms and, even at the start, we knew we were playing better than the results suggested. Individual mistakes and errors were costing us.

“You stick to what you believe in. We’ve always done that. We went 15 games last season without winning a game but you stick to your principles and you turn it around.

“And there is a respect for the league. We’ve just gone ten games unbeaten. Sadly that ended on Tuesday night. We also know you can go ten games without winning a game in this league. You’ve got to rethe league.”

Chesterfie­ld showed their muscle by prising star winger Ryan Colclough away. Sorvel says that reflects well on everyone as they look to build on the platform they’ve set for the remaining months of the season.

“Full credit to the players, we’ve got ourselves into a nice position,” Sorvel said. “Losing a couple of players in that period, we might have to look to recruit again in the last couple of months of the season – keep our eye out and see how we can strengthen the squad moving forward.”

Alty have come a long way since Parkinson and Sorvel arrived from Nantwich to turnaround a club that had just suffered two relegation­s on the bounce.

“It’s been good – the club have backed us,” Sorvel added. “We got the academy up and running three seasons ago – that was something we had strong views about – and hopefully we will see the fruition of that in the next couple of years too.”

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 ?? PICTURE: Alamy ?? ON THE CHARGE: Altrincham have emerged as genuine play-off contenders under Phil Parkinson, and assistant Neil Sorvel, inset
PICTURE: Alamy ON THE CHARGE: Altrincham have emerged as genuine play-off contenders under Phil Parkinson, and assistant Neil Sorvel, inset

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