Boss Brett Marshall confident Staveley MW will learn from last season

The Trojans topped the NCEL Premier Division table and looked set for promotion before the coronavirus forced the season to be cancelled.

And Marshall is confident that his young side will learn from the last 12 months and be better placed to win promotion next time out.

“I have always been an advocate of younger players,” he said. “We had a lot of players last season who, the previous season, were perhaps not physically and mentally ready for that level of football.

“The NCEL Premier is a physically demanding and hard league and the lads have just grown into it last year.

“Probably well over 50 per cent of the squad have come out of academy in the last 18-24 months.

“I’m hoping one or two more will be able to kick-on with the technical ability they have already got.

“We are disappointed with how it ended, it is the players who I felt most disappointed for.

“League tables don’t lie. We were 75 per cent the way into the season and they were where they were in the table, and rightly so.

“The lads are a good set of lads. We have unfinished business and we are all up for next season whenever that may be.”

Marshall knows it is important to get his squad balance right next year, with experienced players there to guide younger heads.

And one man who has that in abundance is former Belper Town striker Jon Froggatt.

“Jon is a top player and a top guy,”added Brett. “He helped a lot of the players with his experience and it really helped us.

“Jon is a great player, he is getting on, but he is probably fitter than most players 15-20 years younger because his attitude is right and he looks after himself.

“It is all about self discipline and he has got that to the max.

“Football is about credibility and when Jon joined he came just after pre-season and his performances earned him respect at the club for what a good player he is.

“It is not all just about Jon, it is about a lot of players and they all seem to buy into what we are about.

“The dressing room is so important at this level and if you have good players with a good attitude you are not going to be far away.”

Marshall expects to go into the new campaign with a settled squad.

“We are not expecting many changes, we need a couple of new players,” he added.

“I have not really spoken to players. Until we have got a clear start date there is no point.

“We have all kept in touch via WhatsApp, the players are up for it. Why would they want to leave Staveley?

“Everything is positive and stable, generally there is no drama, we just get on with it.”

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