Title’s not sunk in yet for safe hands...
ROCK solid goalkeeper Jas Singh admits Tamworth FC’s top success still hasn’t sunk in yet.
Singh was a huge factor in the Lambs’ incredible back to back promotions, which were sealed on Saturday, keeping no fewer than 24 clean sheets thus far with another two more games still to go.
At the start of this year he went over 900 minutes without conceding and broke Dale Belford’s 712 from 1988-89 in a record-breaking campaign for Singh and his team mates.
And speaking to the Herald this week, he admitted: “It’s been a good couple of days! We had a great night in the clubhouse and went into town with our kit on which was eventful to say the least. I got home with my medal just about!
“I am not going to lie at full time it was more of a relief. We have been on the cusp a few weeks now and playing Saturday to Saturday has been frustrating because the job hasn’t been done.
“We could have done it Monday but then had to wait five days for Saturday. We knew what we had to do. Let’s be honest it was more when than if. I think all the lads were just a bit relieved, buzzing we could do it in front of our fans as well. A nice way to do it.
“Our success has been our downfall a little bit with the fact that expectations from everyone around the ground was ‘we need to win it’ when really we shouldn’t be anywhere near it. If we play this season five more times, I don’t think this outcome happens again.
“It is just one of those chances that we have had and we have taken it where everything’s aligned. I don’t think we as players realise what we have done yet. The league doesn’t lie. We could have won it last week with four games to go. That doesn’t happen by luck.
“I am getting a lot of plaudits which is nice but I couldn’t have done it without the boys. Their input in this crazy defensive record that we have got is down to the team unit. We have been very lucky to have such a good group. The defence hasn’t been the same every week. You couldn’t name the back four sometimes. Next week we have got Jordan suspended. But whoever comes in has taken that shirt and done an incredible job.”
So how have they done it? “Ask the gaffer! He is the mastermind behind it,” said Singh. “It helps that we have got a good dressing room and the majority of the group that were here last year stayed as well. I think me, Dan Creaney and Callum Cockerill-Mollett were there the year before as well so we had that core dressing room where the lads know how we play, what we want to do and our strengths and weaknesses. It definitely helps.
“Momentum is crazy in football. You see teams lose games and then go on a crazy losing run but on the split side you see teams win and just keep going and going and that has probably been us. We had two runs, I think early September into October where it was 10 or 12 games unbeaten and then the new year where we didn’t concede for 10 games. The boys turned up when they needed to.
“We knew we could compete with anyone on our day. It was a case of just being consistent. We played the first game against Scunthorpe and we were really good that day, it was one of our better performances.
“I knew if we could keep that level of performance consistent, we would be fine. Me and Matt Curley sit next to each other in the dressing room and every game we were like right we need so and so points to be safe. Saturday me and him just said I think we are safe! No targets were set or anything. It was a case of taking it week by week and seeing where we were at. Game by game really.”
As for next season, he said: “We know it is going to be tough. There will probably be more downs than ups but while we are riding the up we are going to have fun. We are used to winning games of football. Whoever we come up against we want to win and that is what every team should try and do. You never know. We will just enjoy it.”
“We knew we could compete with anyone on our day. It was just a case of being consistent” Jas Singh