
2017/18 - Andy Barr's first season in charge & Chippings first in the Premier Div
After last year’s successful campaign, we found ourselves in the Mid Lancs Premier division. This has proved to be a difficult task but we have shown a steely determination and come from behind to grind out points on many occasions.
In the first half of the season we came from behind in all of our 5 draws which demonstrates that determination, along with good fitness levels and a large forbearing squad.
The trend of grafting for one point ended with the final 8 games having a result either way yielding 9 points. Certainly easier than drawing all the fixtures and with greater reward.
At this point we don’t know if we’ll remain in the Premier division for next season. We find ourselves in limbo finishing second to last with a further two teams dropping out of the league, so we’ll have to wait for the league committee to decide our fate. We know however that we aren’t actually that far away from competing with the top teams. The 4th placed team ended up with a minus 9 goal difference so for us it will be a big target to turn the draws into wins and push for the upper quartile. With a relatively young squad I feel we can only improve moving forward.
After successful campaigns from the 15s / 16s and with the under 18s recommencing next year we will welcome further competition in the seniors. Despite finishing in a low position we remain positive and hopefully we can cement ourselves in the top division in the next campaign.
Andy Barr
1st Team Manager