EVERYONE knows that nothing less than promotion will do at Stalybridge Celtic this season.
Rob Gorski has supplied the budget, and even though he says he doesn’t want to pile unnecessary pressure on Steve Burr, he clearly expects the manager to do the job.
For his part, Burr doesn’t come across as a man wilting under the weight of his chairman’s demands. Giving a little chuckle, he said: “I know what Rob’s like. He’s so passionate and excited, especially after what we’ve achieved in pre-season.
“He wants us to bounce straight back and I hope we can deliver. But the main thing is to get a team together that people enjoy watching and which can challenge at the right end of the table.
“I’ve never been one to shout that my teams will do this, that or the other. We’ll do our best to finish as high as we can. I’m confident I’ve got a decent pool of players together and the signs in pre-season were good.
“I’m aware of what the directors and the fans want. There’s a lot of people who do a lot of hard work behind the scenes at Bower Fold and the players and me are going to do our best to deliver for them.
“For a club the size of Stalybridge Celtic, they’ve spent far too long in the doldrums.”
Burr has set about his task by totally rebuilding the squad he inherited six months ago. In his own words there has been a complete clear-out. The squad he will choose from for Saturday’s opening match against Nantwich bears his hallmark. All traces of previous regimes have been removed.
“After relegation, I felt I needed to change everything,” Burr explained. “Danny Morton and Gary Gee are left from last season and a couple of the ‘new’ men have been around the place before like Greg Wilkinson. I think I gave him his debut when he was a 16-year-old. Then there’s Lewis King, although he didn’t play under me.
“I believe it’s a very good squad but it’s also a small squad. I just hope we get a little bit of luck and don’t pick up any major injuries.”
In terms of promotion candidates, Burr sees two frontrunners: Altrincham and Shaw Lane, adding: “By all accounts, Alty have a sizeable budget for the Northern Premier League and they ought to be up there.
“I don’t know a lot about Shaw Lane, but from what I’m hearing from players there’s no competing with them when it comes to money.
“It’s all right having money but you’ve got to spend it the right way. I’ve always looked to get value for money and our squad fits in with our budget. In fact, there’s still a little bit left which I might keep aside for when we need to use it.”
Burr will be assisted by Keith Briggs, who was his number-two at Southport last season. Briggs is a man Burr rates highly as a coach and who shares his philosophy as to how the game should be played.
The Bower Fold manager concluded: “After five games in we’ll know how good we are or how much we need to improve to get to where we want to be.
“I’m looking forward to the challenge of being at Stalybridge and of putting a squad together that’s capable of competing. I must emphasise that it’s not about 11 players — if we’re to achieve anything it’s about a squad.
“I just want to get cracking now.”