BOSS BRAD RULES WITH AN IRON FIST
BRADLEY Quinton refuses to hand his Braintree Town side a day off for their disappointing FA Cup exit – even though they’re sitting pretty at the top of National League South.
Quinton was furious with his side’s 4-1 defeat by Brackley Town in the third qualifying round a fortnight ago – a result which sees the National League South leaders out of action until Saturday, when they visit Bath City.
But instead of allowing his squad to put their feet up, no-nonsense Quinton has put them through their paces with a double-training session as they to build on a run of three successive league victories.
“There will be no honeymoon period, that’s for sure” Quinton stated. “Ideally, I’d like to be playing in the FA Cup this weekend, but we’re not so we’ll use our time wisely.
“There will be no day off; we’ll be having a double session on Saturday, which will be very structured leading into our next couple of games.
“Overall, it’s been going well – but you don’t win anything for being top of the table in October, it’s a long season and we have to stay focused and mentally prepared for what lies ahead.
“I’m particularly pleased because we took over a brand new squad at the beginning of the season with an average age of our squad is 22/23. Many of them are still learning.
“The players we brought in were all hand-selected. I like time with them one-onone time, to see if they share the same ambition as the club and also for them to see if they want to play for me. We try to treat them as professionally as we can and so far they’ve given us that professionalism back in their performances.
“We’re confident and we want to progress as a squad, but it’s important that, as a management team, we keep the players grounded and keep their feet on the ground.”
But while progression is smooth on the pitch, the Iron face something of an uncertain future off it after chairman Lee Harding revealed this week that the club has been told to find a new home.
Despite over 4,000 supporters and local residents signing a petition to save the Ironmongery-Direct Stadium site, the club appear to be losing their battle to stay at Cressing Road with the local plan suggesting placing around 60 new homes on top of its training facilities.
Harding said: “We had one meeting [with Braintree Council] in July and the ball is now firmly in the club’s court. The council have left it down to us to go back to them with our plans.
“The meeting we had was constructive, and we are hoping to submit a business plan for a new stadium within the next two months, but it is not easy to find a site in the current climate.
“We don’t want money from Braintree Council, but we want support from our council. If we can’t find somewhere and the council pursues its plans then it will be the end of our football club.”