In the first of what is planned to be monthly updates, manager Jon Moran shares his own thoughts on the current goings-on across Nantwich Town, from men’s to women’s and youth teams…
By Jon Moran
Hello everyone and welcome to my first monthly manager’s update, where I will be sharing all things Nantwich Town.
I suppose a good place to start would be my new role as Manager of this amazing football club, which I am sure a few of you were cautious of at first and likely questioned. It is an incredible honour for me, and I am incredibly proud of being able to represent this club at this level. Admittedly I wasn’t expecting this opportunity to come as quickly as it has, but if there is one thing I can promise during my time here, it’s that me and my staff will work as hard as possible to be successful and that every decision we make will have the club at its heart. My first set of thank yous go to Jon Gold and the Board of Directors who have shown me the faith and trust to take this club forward. It is very rare in football to have a Board as good as the one that we have, and I am massively grateful to them for the opportunity. I also want to thank my staff who have agreed to support me. Jay ‘Spearo’ Speare has agreed to stay and support me as Goalkeeper Coach/Assistant and is someone me and the players love to bits. I have worked closely with Jay over the last few years and I was very keen on keeping him involved. I also brought in an old friend and Dabbers favourite Daz Thornton, who has joined me as a Player/Assistant. Daz is someone I have followed closely in recent years and is someone who has gained management experience where he was successful at Nelson, guiding a young group of players on what some would call a shoestring budget. It is important to not forget Daz’s playing capabilities, as he showed at Vauxhall away.
I also brought in Andy Porter on a short-term consultancy basis, to help me with the transition, and to advise and assist me in the early phases of my role as manager. Andy has since left his position and myself and the club want to extend our appreciation and thanks. I am sure all the Dabbers faithful will join me in wishing Ports well for the future as we look forward to welcoming him to the Swansway Stadium in the future.
Finally, a special thanks goes to all the Nantwich Town fans who have been so welcoming since I have stepped up. I am a firm believer in creating an environment where everyone feels a part of it, and I want to ensure our growing fan base feels at the heart of our future success. Thank you.
Now onto a bit of a first team update and as you can all imagine, it has been somewhat of a rollercoaster month, with a mixture of the good, bad and indifferent. Thankfully we have had a lot more good and our league position reflects that. While I would love to take all the credit for the recent form, the players deserve all the plaudits. It is never easy going through a period of change and uncertainty, but the players have been terrific and I honestly can’t thank them enough for the attitude they have shown. We are coming off the back of 7 wins in 9 league games and 4 home wins in a row. Not bad for an average team with confidence. Me and my management team took over with 7 points from 6 games, so to think we are sat in 3rd having taken 21 points out of the last 28 isn’t too bad. It could be better, especially following a disappointing result against Mossley and the lessons we were taught at Chasetown! But something I have been keen on trying to instil in this group from an early point is a winner’s mentality and I believe we are starting to find that. I would like to think the many fans who have been down to the Swansway Stadium can see what we are trying to do in terms of playing philosophy, with an added emphasis on attacking and entertaining football. I certainly know Frank Blunstone shares my vision as we spoke for some time at his 90th Birthday a few weeks back about the importance of “width” and “depth”. I think the other important thing I hope is being reflected is how much the group are enjoying themselves. I am a firm believer that if the players are seen to be enjoying it, then the fans will too. Again, the lads deserve huge credit for the way they have gone about things in the last month, and I am so proud of the attitude each and every one of them have applied themselves.
I look around our dressing room and I see a really great mix of youth and experience with a whole lot of talent in between that if we can nurture, can be very successful. Now the question is how do you define success. I have been asked a number of times about where I want to take this group of players and this club; but success to me is winning football matches… However, if we win the next 27 games, we shouldn’t be too far off! We have made some small changes to the playing squad with the additions of Joe Robbins and Ali Hayder, two young players who have a lot to prove and hopefully they will do just that in a Nantwich Town shirt. We have also seen the departures of Cole Lonsdale, Cesaire Lingouba, Giovanni Loureiro, and Cheyenne Loureiro, who have gone with my best wishes. As with most non-league teams, we will see further incomings and further departures across the season, but the one thing I want to make clear is that I truly believe in this group of players and will back them to the very end, which I know each and every fan will do too.
We now step into another busy period of football, with a lot of points to play for. Another promise is that me and my players will apply ourselves fully to each and every game and will go into each one looking to win.
I also want to use this opportunity to congratulate Dan Mellor and his group of players (Nantwich Town Women) who have really put Nantwich Town on the map this season. Dan has been able to lead his group to the 1st Round Proper in the Women’s FA Cup, a huge achievement and an achievement that deserves serious plaudits. I am really proud to be associated with a football club that shares equal ambitions in both the Men’s and Women’s games and Dan, his staff and his group of players have done amazing things so far. Congratulations all.
I am also really proud to share that our U21’s are having an equally fantastic season, where they are currently running top of their league table. The youth phases of this club is an area I am keen to help support and I have already promoted two players into the first team set up. I think it is hugely important to offer praise to the many volunteers that help make our “academy” set up a reality and I will make it a priority to support them where I can in my new role. I have also been made aware that the club now has 75 affiliated teams! That is incredible and I can’t wait to come down and watch some games over the coming months. Equally, Lyndon and his team have been working around the clock to help launch the player performance initiative within our female youth phase whilst also offering a Q&A with none other than David Platt for our community coaches. I wish I was invited!!
Now if you have made it to this point then thank you very much and I am glad I haven’t bored you too much. But I think this is really important to share the great things we as a club are doing and being able to highlight areas not just related to the first team is incredibly powerful and shows just how far this football club has come. But it is really important to reflect and just acknowledge that without our community initiatives, youth phases and women’s football, our club would not be what it is today. It is also pivotal to note that all of the above would not be possible without the commitment and support from each and every volunteer that helps keep this club going. I am extremely grateful for the sacrifices each and every one of you make to help keep this club running and I will work tirelessly to ensure we all have something to celebrate come the end of the season.
My final note is just to ask each and every fan to maintain their amazing support. As a group we will face tough challenges and we will be calling upon our amazing fans to help us through. I look forward to seeing you all at the Swansway against Stalybridge on Saturday, where we hope to come away with another 3 points.
Up the Dabbers.