MAHER: WE’VE NO BAD BLOOD
‘Injustice’ must be used as positive
SAFFRON WALDEN Town boss Jason Maher says the Bloods will use the frustration of seeing their title tilt stopped in its tracks as motivation to reach the Step 4 Holy Grail.
Walden were top of the Essex Senior League when the campaign was concluded due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Maher’s side were coming into the last stages of the season in a promotion dogfight with Hashtag United, Walthamstow and Hadley hot on their heels.
“Even though I’m somebody that always wants more and to do better and to really push ourselves, I actually consider it the season a success,” Maher said.
“I’ve used that sense of injustice to give me new energy and motivate me even more this season and have another go at trying to get to the Holy Grail of Step 4.
“Of course, preparations have been challenging. From a football manager’s perspective, and a human being’s perspective, you have to contend with hoping that everyone around you and at the club are safe and well.
Stable
“You also have a duty as a manager and as a friend to try and help them players, to talk to them, to check in on them, making sure that they’re okay and see if there’s anything you can do to help them.”
As with most clubs at Step 5, Walden have had to tread lightly with finances to help them through these uncertain times.
But Maher hailed the club for making sure they are working from a stable base.
“While financially it is not easy, there’s been some excellent work done by the board to make sure we on a good, sound financial footing,” Maher said.
“I know that we have the best supporters in the league by a country mile and I know that once we get the go ahead from the FA to start football there will be 300 people there watching every week turning out to support the town and the club and we’ll be okay financially.
“We were budgeting for six home games left between when we stopped and the end of the season. Some of them would have definitely been big money spinners. The game against Hashtag on the last game of the season, if there had been anything riding on that we could have been looking at close to 1,000 people.”
Maher knows the ESL is a tough unforgiving league but he’s determined the Bloods will be in the promotion race next season.
“The ambitions don’t change from last season, a lot of people said I was a bit of an idiot last season when I said preseason that our ambition was to win the league,” he said.
“If we are given a reasonable budget by the board, which I’m sure we will be, then come the end of the season I’d like to think we’ll be in the mix.
“This football club has been away from Step 4 football for a long time now – a 20-year period. This club is geared up for Step 4 football. And I think that we could be a big club even at Step 4, with the support that we get.”