THE BUCKS HAVE GOT FIZZ BACK
KEVIN WILKIN has urged his AFC Telford United promotionchasers to take the club’s first major step back to redemption.
The Bucks suffered relegation from National League North last term after a disastrous campaign.
Highly-respected boss Wilkin joined partway through the campaign but was unable to stop the rot before a total rebuild in the summer.
Victory against Leamington, also relegated themselves from Step 2 last season, would be the perfect way to respond – and former Nuneaton and Brackley Town boss Wilkin is hoping they come out on the right side of the result after a tough period.
“Fundamentally, last year, the players we had weren’t good enough,” Wilkin said. “It’s taken a little bit of time and effort to change things around and clearly we’ve had a more consistent season this time – albeit at a lower level than we’d probably want to be playing.
“Hopefully we’re seeing the signs of things coming together in a better way. There were lots of issues to address when I went into the club.
had a complete overhaul of the side with only keeping two of last year’s squad, which gives you an idea.
“Probably the level we’re pitching at has given us the opportunity to pick up some results. If we could bounce back at the first time of asking, it will be great for everybody and the club can move forward on a solid footing.”
Like many managers before him, the lure of Telford and, more specifically, what ceiling the club has was a big one for Wilkin.
It’s not all that long ago the Bucks were dining at Non-League’s top table and, following the arrival of new ownership, the ambition is for that to one day happen again. Despite last season’s disaster, Wilkin opted to stay on with the mission to turn things around.
But has the scale of the rebuild surprised him?
“You’re never quite aware of every issue at a club before you take over,” he said. “Clearly the results weren’t good enough when the job arose.
“Changing personnel was a big thing. Add to that one or two issues, too much gossip at the club that was negative, one or two cliques we’ve had to address to get it moving forward and trying to bring together the solid fanbase – getting people feeling more positive about the club.
“These things take time but they certainly don’t hap“We’ve pen if you don’t win games. We have done – there’s still a lot of work to do. Hopefully there is more of affinity with the players and the fanbase. These players do go the extra yard to integrate with the supporters.
“The whole place does feel better. Clearly that’s underpinned by winning games.”
New Bucks Head will be full of expectation tomorrow afternoon when Leamington come to town and Wilkin is looking forward to the challenge.
“We know what lies ahead,” he added.
“It’s one more game – obviously the same for both sides – but it’s nice the club can look forward to something positive.”