Sewell expects Hall Road to compete for top ten finish

Hall Road Rangers manager Leon Sewell

Leon Sewell expects Hall Road Rangers to be challenging for a top ten place, but has warned that it could take until the winter for lift-off. 

Sewell has been tasked with rebuilding Hall Road after their relegation back to Toolstation NCEL Division One.

Results have been indifferent, but Sewell, appointed on the back of excellent work at Westella and then East Yorkshire Carnegie, anticipated they would be and that patience is key.

“The aim has got to be top ten,” Sewell told Non League Yorkshire.

“The top four would be a massive overachievement if we make it happen, but we’ll give it our best shot.

“The lads we have are grafters and they never stop working. There’s some experienced lads in the side as well. 

“At Selby there was no Ryan Williams, no Gary Bradshaw, no Dan O’Connor and with them plus the other experienced lads, it is a totally different story.

“We have brought in a couple of new lads recently and there’s a couple of irons in fire so we will see what happens.

“It is going to take time and it will take until the middle part of the season for things to get going. It is a tricky one because you don’t August, September and October to be your pre-season and then kick on from there.

“But we knew it would be like that and that’s why I’m not disheartened by some of the results. As long as we keep playing the attractive football we are doing I’m happy.

“We have to be patient because it will come together. Look at what happened at East Yorkshire Carnegie last season. 

“We were bottom two at Christmas and we ended up finishing 13th. I think we will replicate that and go above that with Hall Road.

“We are set-up to do so. Haworth Park is a lovely set-up. We have a great chairman in Darren Sunley, a great vice-chairman in Dave Reader. The structure we have got is spot on.

“I also have great support in Chris Burke and Danny Johnson.”

The only result which was poor was the 6-0 home defeat to Campion, but Sewell admits they were mitigating reasons why it was so heavy.

“Campion at home I like to think that was a one-off because we had nine players missing,” he said.

“We had three 17-year-olds playing and you can’t really get with it at this level.

“That volumes when you come to places like Selby because all the players are older, 20+.

“We have got a young side and it is a transition period. We have one player that remains from last season.”

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