NOW PAT’S GOT GR-EIGHT HOPE

BOSS Pat McManus delivered Brockenhurst’s 15 minutes of fame but admitted something longer lasting would be required to cause a stir in this season’s Wessex League.

The Premier Division outfit made national headlines when McManus vowed to register fans as players to break the deadlock of Non-League clubs being forced to play behind closed doors.

An appearance on talkSPORT brought rare national publicity for the New Forest outfit that have never plied their trade higher than their current level.

Brock’s highest finishing position since returning to Step 5 in 2013 is 10th but despite not having the clout to trouble the big-hitters, McManus has his heart set on trumping that recent record. “There is still an awful lot of money being thrown around by a select few clubs but I am not going to knock that,” he said.

“Those clubs are showing ambition to get out of the league and so they should if they are not putting their futures at risk and have the infrastructure to do it.

Ambition

“AFC Portchester will be one of them, they say every year they want to get out of the league but so far they haven’t managed to.

“They are going all guns blazing and if they don’t win the league they will probably have a stewards’ enquiry based on what they’re spending, but they are making no secret of that. A lot of clubs like to keep secret what they spend but players talk and there will be five or six clubs spending a healthy amount. Others like us have good housekeeping and are in good shape.

“We have teams from under-7s with no gaps up to the seniors, we are a good community club and our ambition is to not underachieve based on the talent we have.

“I genuinely think we are a top-eight side. In previous seasons we have started well before dipping somewhere after Christmas. That’s what we have to remedy.

“We think we know why we have done that and have taken steps to put a stop to it. If we get that right I think we will be in good shape come the end of the season.”

At least he no longer has to worry about 100-or-so would-be players knocking on his door now a limited number of fans have been granted access to matches.

Exposure

“It gave us a bit of exposure,” added McManus, left. “Ben Kneller, Gosport’s assistant manager, had a version of the idea, I had a slightly different idea and we first discussed it around two months ago.

“It seemed to be dragging on. With the country coming back to life with pubs and other venues, it made no sense that spectators couldn’t watch football at certain levels where it would be very easy to manage.

“The tweet came from the frustration of it all and a couple of people got hold of it. I said it more because I thought something would be done by that weekend and it turned out to be the case.

“It resonated with a lot of clubs and a lot of people, I think that was why it gained traction.”

That attention will be repeated, albeit more locally, when Brock host Lymington Town in the FA Cup on Tuesday.

“They are on our doorstep and we have had some great games with Lymington,” said McManus.

“Budgets go out of the window – they are a big budget side and we are not – and it is a typical derby when we play them.”