CRAIG STEPS UP STRIKER SEARCH
CRAIG Edwards needs one final piece to complete his Cheshunt jigsaw – a proven striker.
The experienced boss has almost finalised his squad for their second season in the Isthmian Premier, which will be his third in charge of the Ambers.
Edwards, known for his long stint at Billericay Town, has re-signed 12 players from last term – they were 18th when the campaign ended – and has added consistent goalkeeper Shane Gore.
Centre-back Adam Crowther and forward Harry Lodovica have also joined along with French striker Hassane Gassama.
Goalscorer Dwade James, who bagged 54 goals in 60 appearances for Essex Senior League side Walthamstow, has made a two-league jump to get on board, but Edwards wants a striker known to the level.
Promising
“We’re in the market for a top proven striker and we’re talking to several at the moment,” he told The NLP. “We have got a couple who are a little bit raw but look really promising.
“We generally always pull one out of the hat who no one’s heard of and goes onto bigger things. We’ve got a couple of those in-house, but I do want to get one out-and-out proven striker, who’s a top-end Step 3 striker.
“It’s been probably the easiest close season I’ve had. In the last 20 years I’ve never really been able to keep players as we generally do well which means you lose them and they go on to bigger and better things.
“Unfortunately, the only two we have lost are our strikhas ers. Reece Beckles-Richards has moved to Hemel and Ryan Moss has retired. I think we’ve made really good acquisitions to make the squad a lot stronger but we’ve got the base we had at the end of last season which makes things so much easier.
“I thought we finished the season so strong and I think we were close to being one of the top sides in the division. We’re hoping to be very competitive.”
Edwards took the club up through the Isthmian South Central play-offs in 2019 during his first full season in charge, but initially found the step up tricky at the start of the last campaign.
He is no stranger to Step 3 and knew he had to change things around, holding a ‘mini pre-season’ in November which led to improved form by the end of the winter.
Edwards feels they are now in a better place ahead of the season’s start at home against East Thurrock United on September 19.
“I was really impressed with the division last year, the quality of the football played, the quality of the teams was very high,” he said. “It was a great challenge for myself because we went into the season with a squad that wasn’t up to the level.
Catch-up
“It was a case of playing catch-up through the season and I thought we did that very well.
“There are very good teams in the league. I think all the usual suspects who were up there last year will be there again. With Covid, I think it kept a lot of squads together that might have broken up. A lot of teams are in the same boat as us.”
Cheshunt are progressing off the pitch too with a thriving community set-up, including a new women’s team.
“Everything is moving in the right direction,” added Edwards. “We’ve got wonderful facilities for all of them. That’s why I dropped down to Step 4, I met them and they blew me away with their ambition.
“It’s a great football club. It would be nice to bring them more success.”