He’s not promising cups or titles, but only a month after Stalybridge Celtic went right to the wire in avoiding relegation, the manager believes the 2019-20 season can be much better than the one just ended.
“You can probably hear the energy in my voice. I’m thrilled that Rob and Wendy have promised me they’re keeping the same playing budget for next year,” said the Bridge boss.
“In an ideal world you always want more money but if they’d cut the budget it would have made my life very difficult because there’s going to be some really strong teams. Given our financial situation I was really concerned it might have been cut.
“Keeping the budget means we have the chance to do something positive next season and retain some of the better players.
“Rob and Wendy have assured me that things are moving in the right direction off the field too, and I have to say I trust them. We can now look up rather than down. There’s a lot to do but what they told me has left me optimistic.”
Even though Celtic finished 17th, just a couple of points clear of the relegation places, Haworth maintains that his squad was only two players away from a comfortable midtable placing. The key problem was a lack of goals, too much youth and too many loan players.
“Nobody really gave us a hiding, and a proven striker would have made a whole lot of difference to us,” he added.
Haworth has already begun work on who he wants to retain or recruit but, as he points out, non-contract players cannot be put on forms until July 1. However, he is delighted to have kept top-scorer Neil Kengni, a product of the Rochdale Academy.
He said: “I see similarities between Neil and Kurt Willoughby, a lad I had at Clitheroe. Kurt needed a season to bed himself in and then improved the following year which led to a move to FC United. I think it’ll be the same for Neil.”
Looking ahead, Haworth commented: “After all that happened last year, I hope that we can now have a good, positive summer and use it to move the club forward so that we do better next season.”