WILY BAKER IS WISE TO HIS DOUGH
CANNY boss Steve Baker reckons shrewd use of the loan market can help Harrow Borough get back on track next season.
After a seventh place finish in their maiden year in Southern League Premier South, injury-ravaged Boro limped to 17th this term before the campaign was cut short.
One of the bright spots was the displays of two youngsters on loan from Fulham – goalkeeper Luca Ashby-Hammond and centre-half Ben Tricker, both 19.
“They made such a difference,” said former Hayes midfielder Baker. “I can’t speak highly enough of them.
“Finance is going to be really difficult next season and one route we need to go down is to try to work with professional clubs’ Under-23 sides.
“Playing Non-League football is a lot more beneficial than playing U23s football and it suits us from a financial perspective.”
But Baker says that it’s vital you do sufficient homework before snapping up a young starlet on a temporary basis.
“The way it often works is that if the lad plays, it doesn’t cost you any money,” he said. “If he doesn’t, it costs you.
“You have to be careful because you can get one or two that are not ready for Non-League football. It’s a lot different going to Truro or Taunton and getting smashed by a 6ft 5ins meathead than playing on a carpet!”
Smashed
The former Chipstead, Egham and Walton & Hersham boss admits that he’s ‘planning blind’ for next season, but says that’s a better option than sitting on his hands.
“I’m planning that we’re going to start on the original mid-August date and that my budget will be there or thereabouts what it’s been for the last two or three years,” he said. “I spent a whole day on Wednesday speaking to everyone in the squad and nearly all the boys want to stay. If you leave it and leave it, you would lose half your squad.”
The 45-year-old has notched up five years in the Earlsmead hotseat and is determined to try to push the club forward as he enters the final year of his contract.
Attraction
“From a budget point of view, we punch above our weight every year,” he said. “If we can top the squad up, our target would be to get near the play-offs.
“If we did that it would be huge considering what we are working with, but we nearly did it last year. If we get the right players coming in, we won’t be a million miles off.
“It’s a tough job, but I think myself and my team have done a pretty good job over the last five years.
“I thank the club for that. We don’t have things other clubs have, but I do have a chairman (Peter Rogers) who is different class and the board have backed me in good and bad times.
“When I first applied for the job, part of the attraction was the club’s stability. I still want to go as high as I can and I would love to take Harrow to the next level.”