BARTLEY’S SET FOR A TITLE TILT AT BLUES!
OPTIMISTIC Mark Bartley is in no doubt where he thinks his Marlow side can finish in the Isthmian League South Central Division.
“I believe we can finish top,” the confident Bartley told The NLP. “All that is in my mind is winning the league so I’d say we’ll win the league.”
For Bartley, though, there is still work to be done. The Blues sat third in the table before yesterday’s round of matches, seven points adrift of in-form leaders Chertsey Town.
Southall lie second, a point in front but having played two games more, and Bartley believes his free-scoring side have what it takes to leapfrog both of their rivals to the title.
“There’s plenty of work to do, but we play Chertsey twice and we need to beat them,” he added. “We think we can do it and nothing is impossible.
“Before the season we felt as though there were a handful sides with a chance at winning the title. We’re one of them, and we’re embracing it and not talking it down, winning the league was our target and it still is.”
Long-serving Bartley believes Marlow’s title push is the result of a steady build since taking over the reins at the Alfred Davies Memorial Ground 12 years ago.
“We were in Step 5 when I first took over,” said the former Marlow playing favourite, who also turned out for Hayes, Slough, Burnham and Thame. “We got promoted and have been at Step 4 for about ten years now.
“My sole mandate was to establish us in Step 4 and there has been a mindset change for the club over the last ten years.
“Last year we had a massive overhaul. We pretty much recruited a brand new squad barring a handful of players, and we were able to finish third last year and we built on that this season.
“A large bulk of that squad has stayed and we’ve added a bit around it.
“The players understand a bit more what we want from them, that makes a huge difference, having a bit of continuity, a bit of experience and we have boys that are 20 years
old who played 40 games for the club.
“We’ve been more adventurous this season than in years gone by. We’re more forward thinking and you see that with our goals for tally this year.”
Exciting
Indeed, the Blues are the highest scorers in the division with 74 goals from 26 goals, thanks largely to 28-goal top scorer Dawid Rogalski and ex-Maidenhead, Hampton and Farnborough front man Dave Tarpey, who has added 15 in 14 games since joining from Leatherhead.
“We have big winners in our squad and our attacking play is as good as anything,” Bartley added. “We’re in the top five or six scoring sides in Non-League football at the moment which is exciting.”
Bartley explains the Blues are thriving as a club with an U23s side was created last season to bridge the gap between the youth section and the senior side.
“Marlow is a small town where you have to make everything work,” he added. “We have a good solid fanbase and a number of first-team boys help to coach the youngsters on any given day. It’s a great place to be.”