STREVENS STRIVES FOR PERFECTION!
BEN STREVENS says he heard everything he need- ed to from Eastleigh before penning a two-year extension as manager – and he says the Spitfires’ transformed approach gives them the platform for a bright future.
Strevens, who has signed until the end of the 2022-23 season, has had more than 100 games in charge of the National League club since taking over in 2018 and they are giving everything to break into the play-offs this term.
That would be a second post-season appearance under Strevens after the south coast outfit reached the semi-finals in his first season.
The days of splashing the cash under former owner Stewart Donald are long gone but Strevens is convinced they can still be pushing for the Football League.
“The personal stuff in terms of the contract was straightforward it was just more me knowing what the future is for the football club,” he told The NLP.
“We’ve had to do loads in the last two years and we don’t want to keep changing, we need to try and get a bit of stability and know we are going to be running on a level playing for the next couple of years.
“The club said they believe we are on that path now which was important for me in terms of the group we’ve got together and also moving forward that we will be competitive in the league.”
Perception
Strevens is proud of their summer recruitment after identifying young talent from the lower levels or U23 sides to blend with their experienced heads.
And the 40-year-old says the stability the club has, particularly in the aftermath of Covid, is down to a lot of hard work behind the scenes.
“It has been good and bad the last couple of years,” Strevens said. “Being honest, the good part has been that an understanding board has let me get my feet under the table and learn how to be a manager.
“Really and truly if the expectation was he had to win every game and get promoted straight away, who knows if I would still be the manager after 100-odd games.
“The toughest part has been trying to change the perception of players, agents and other people you speak that they’re not just coming here for the money. We’ve got to be a sustainable club.
“The work Kenny Amor (chief executive) and Tom Coffey (operations director) put in behind the scenes to make us sustainable can’t go unnoticed. Stewart Donald left us a really good infrastructure but they’ve had to watch every pound and penny we’ve spent from players to everything around the club.
“We’ve had to do things carefully. I believe that is the right approach but it’s been a couple of years of real hard work by everyone.”