AUSTIN: CONGLETON HAVE THE IDEAL CHANCE TO MAKE LEAGUE PROGRESS
CONGLETON Town manager Ryan Austin has lofty ambitions - and he insists the club is geared up to help him achieve those aims.
Former Kidsgrove boss Austin barely had time to draw breath after leaving Hollinwood Road before landing the top job with the Bears back in April.
He might have dropped down a level to join the North West Counties League side, but says the pieces of the jigsaw are in place to build a bright future.
That includes the club linking with Congleton Vale to strength the football community in the town.
For Austin, though, the focus is on navigating Congleton out of the Premier Division - with this season offering an expanded chance for clubs to rise up the ladder.
“All managers would be lying if they didn’t say they wanted promotion,” said former Crewe and Burton defender Austin.
“We’ll never get a better chance to go up than this season. There’s three automatic promotion places up for grabs, which there might not be in the future.
“With last season being null and void, there are three spots because I think they are trying to restructure the pyramid a bit.
“We’ve got to target one of those places, although there’s probably 10 or 15 other clubs who are saying the same thing.
“When I left Kidsgrove I half thought about having time out, but Congleton sold the club to me.
“The infrastructure is in place, and with the link with Congleton Vale, it means the club is in the right situation to go places.
“Other clubs might target promotion, but you wonder if they would be able to sustain it. That’s not the case here, everything is set up.”
The coronavirus pandemic ensured it was an unusual start at Congleton for Austin and his coaching assistants Richard Duffy and Anthony Griffith.
Pre-season training was interrupted by government guidelines, while cup action kicked off the season, rather than the league programme.
Congleton beat Burscough on penalties in their first FA Cup tie, but bowled out at the next stage when they were beaten by Skelmersdale.
However, their long wait for a league match was ended last weekend when they defeated Squires Gate 3-2 at home.
“We’re all in the same boat. It’s strange, but this is a unique time,” added Austin, pictured above.
“When you get appointed you want to meet the lads straight away, get out on the training ground and put your philosophies across.
“We’ve had to play the waiting game, but have eventually managed to get going.
“The FA Cup being played before the first league game wasn’t ideal. We managed to score a last-minute winner on Saturday, but then saw Tuesday’s game against Ashton called off because they have Covid issues. So it’s been very stop-start.”
It looked as though Austin’s league bow would end in defeat.
Squires Gate led 2-1 heading in to injury time, before two late goals turned the tables.
Prolific striker Dan Cope grabbed the leveller, and then Jon Beaumont powered home a header from a Tom Schofield cross to secure the points for the Bears.
“It’s always nice to get a win in the first league game... and even nicer when it’s in the last minute,” said Austin.
“The players showed character and belief, but we had done that before when we scored in the 92nd minute against Burscough to take the cup tie to penalties.
“We have that togetherness and hopefully that will stand us in good stead for the season.”
Austin takes his side to Lancashire side Longridge tomorrow, looking to make it back-to-back wins.
“We don’t know a great deal about Longridge, but we’ve done a bit of research,” he explained.
“It’s going to be a difficult game, but they have a big FA Cup tie on Tuesday, so hopefully they will have one eye on that.
“I knew bits and bobs about the league before I joined Congleton. Being at Kidsgrove, you keep an eye on the league for potential players.
“We knew it was an ultracompetitive league, but this is a challenge I’m looking forward to.”
Congleton have a fully-fit squad for tomorrow’s game and welcome back Josh Ryder after he was suspended for Saturday’s victory over Squires Gate.