THAT ONE WAS JUST FOR YOU, OUR CHIEF
PROUD Enfield Town boss Gavin Macpherson believes their promotion to National League South is a fitting tribute to ‘pioneer’ Dave Bryant.
Bryant was the founding chairman when the north London outfit became the first supporter-owned club in the country when they formed in 2001 and went on to serve the club with distinction.
His death after a brave fight with cancer in March left the Towners reeling and gave them added incentive to achieve something special in his name.
They duly did it on Monday when they triumphed 3-0 at second-placed Chatham Town courtesy of second-half goals from Bernard Tanner, top scorer Marcus Wyllie and Lewis Taafe.
There were jubilant scenes as Enfield celebrated promotion and remembered one of their founding fathers.
Manager Macpherson, in his first season at the helm, said: “Dave was very supportive of me, a very positive guy.
“As I got to know people at the club and understand the history, I realised he was a pioneer and a big part of the reason the club is where it is today.
“His passing was greatly felt by a lot of people who have had a longer association with the club than me, but it was also my first thought (after we’d won on Monday). My first thought on the day was for him and his family who were all there – it was very fitting.”
When The NLP caught up with former Met Police stalwart Macpherson in the week, he admitted that his side’s promotion still hadn’t sunk in. It was a brilliant end to an excellent campaign.
“People had told me that winning the play-offs is the best way to go up, but I would probably take winning the league over the emotion of the whole day!” he said.
“To have gone there and won 3-0, comprehensively as a scoreline, but not necessarily as a game, meant we had to work hard for our reward. We were very good in the second half.
“It’s a big moment for the club. We all understand where it’s come from – fan-owned and fan-run – and they had been in the league for over ten years and been in semi-finals. A lot of people have come from the old Enfield club and they’ve been quite used to a high level of football. I’m absolutely delighted for those people. To have done it the way we did was fantastic.” Unsurprisingly, the down-to-earth Macpherson, whose side took on Prague Raptors in the Fenix Trophy semi-finals in Italy on Friday night, was keen to share the plaudits for the club’s success.
“This is a really massive moment for the football club and it’s big for me, too,” he explained. “My management team have been unbelievable this season. They have kept me grounded when things have gone well and not so well, and I have to pay tribute to them.
Planning
“The players have had to take on board a totally different concept to what they were used to. They maybe wondered if they would be in the plans but they
have come with me. We had a couple of rough periods and January was really poor, but we had to keep going. We brought in a couple of personnel and didn’t panic.
“The players are the most important people because they had to do what was asked of them and believe in it. I couldn’t have blamed them in January if they had doubted what we were doing.”
With promotion in the bag, the Towners are now gearing up for a maiden shot at National League South.
“I think it’s going to be a big step up,” admitted Macpherson. “There will be some teams who we are on par with, but there will be a lot of teams that are a lot better than we have been used to facing week in, week out.
“It will be a massively difficult test, that isn’t lost on me, so the real hard work starts now for me and the club. We are going into a different level of football.
“I know the division quite well and I understand the calibre of players. We are enjoying the moment, but tomorrow it’s back to it.