SAVIOUR STRINGER HAS EARNT HIS WINGS
ROD STRINGER says Welling United’s Great Escape can be a platform for brighter times.
The Wings were seven points from National League South safety when the former Brentwood Town manager arrived at the end of January along with assistant Kevin Watson.
But the duo have masterminded a remarkable turnaround with 32 points from 17 games – including a victory over champions Yeovil Town – to achieve safety with a game to spare.
“It’s been very tough,” Stringer told The NLP. “There were a lot of players on contract, a lot of long-term injuries we’ve had to deal with but we had to keep marching on, get in some loans and galvanize them.
“We’ve fought for every point, every goal and, eventually, managed to do the unthinkable really – the Great Escape – in the situation.
“We went in at the end of January so it’s been twoand-a-bit months of trying to get enough points on the board. Somehow we managed to achieve it.”
Quite how they’ve achieved survival, Stringer says, is down to finding a way to grind out points.
“We went in on the Monday and had Hampton on the Tuesday,” Stringer said. “We had no time to prep but we managed to get a result there.
“In the first two or three games we kept going down to ten men, which wasn’t helping, but we still managed to pick up points. That made it a tough start.
“We managed to get some training sessions in – and then we had 13 missing for the Trophy against Barnet for various reasons – but we got that out of the way and just focused on each game. They’ve come relentlessly. It’s been a tough schedule, but we’ve just found a way.
“We try to give the boys as much information as possible. Kevin Watson, who came in with me, has done a great job with the lads in coaching and the tactical side of things, along with myself.
“We’ve picked teams to go out there and work hard. We’ve lost two in 17 so the stats have been unbelievable – it’s play-off form and we had to hit play-off form to give ourselves any chance.
“Winning away at Yeovil was a great achievement, Torquay at home are still a good side even though they’re fighting a different battle. It’s been tough.”
With their Step 2 status assured – and with Stringer and Watson already penning new contracts – the former Braintree Town and Chelmsford City boss wants to use the momentum to springboard into next season.
“The club is now in a good place and will be a realistically sustained football club,” Stringer said. “The last couple of years they’ve spent big to achieve and it hasn’t worked out.
“The budget for next year is competitive, I’d like to try and get as high as I can, but it’s not a guaranteed play-off budget. But we’ve overachieved and it’s something we can achieve.
“The most important thing is we’re not looking back. We want to recruit right, get the right players around the club and have a slightly different identity to what we’ve been now we’ve got a clean slate.”