Stocksbridge Park Steels manager Chris Hilton has a “burning desire” to win trophies as he enters his second decade in management.
This summer marked ten years since the former Frickley Athletic defender stepped into the Worsbrough Bridge manager’s job as a rookie boss. The club were perennial strugglers, but Hilton did a remarkable job and turned them into a top half team over the course of four years. His legacy at Worsbrough is the legendary 2012/13 invincibles team.
He then moved to Stocksbridge Park Steels in 2014 and has overseen play-offs and FA Trophy charges, plus the development of Harrison Biggins who is now a Football League player with Barrow.
Hilton has clearly done a magnificent job in both posts, but he wants to remove the elephant from the room – the lack of silverware and promotions.
“Initially it was about getting a team out (at Worsbrough), but then I was fortunate at Worsbrough that I got a good bunch together and we stayed together for a few years and had some fantastic times,” Hilton told Non League Yorkshire.
“It has been the same at Stocksbridge. The first year was just like the first year at Worsbrough. I had three players left from the previous season and by the start of the season I had one player left (from the previous season) and he left within a month.
“It was all about rebuilding and getting a group together and we’ve done that several times. We’re used to it, but I have a settled side from last season. There’s only one who has left and we’ll be as strong as we were last season.
“We’ve had some rebuilding to do over the years, but we’ve had success in the FA Trophy. We’ve got Harrison Biggins into the Football League and we’ve got in the play-offs and before Stocksbridge we went the whole season undefeated in the league at home with Worsbrough.
“It is difficult to pick a favourite (achievement), but to go undefeated the whole season at home is a fantastic achievement because that is done over 20-odd games. It is hard to choose because I have immense pride in helping Harrison Biggins make pro and also the two FA Trophy runs because in one of them we knocked the holders North Ferriby out in their own backyard.
“I’d probably go with going undefeated at home (as my favourite) because of the club we did it with and with not paying players a penny over the four years and doing it with a group who wanted to play for each other.
“But at the end of the day we’re all judged on what we have won. I have a burning desire to not just be rebuilding or just surviving or over-achieving. I want to win play-offs, win promotions, win cups. I want to do what every other manager and players want to do.
“It is difficult, but as a player I won quite a bit so winning something as a manager is something definitely missing off my CV and it is something I want to do.”
Stocksbridge start their NPL Division One South East campaign with the clash with Kidsgrove Athletic at Bracken Moor. Hilton’s hopes for the season are crystal clear.
“Play-offs,” he said.
“I feel confident we can be around where we were last season fighting for a play-offs spot.
“I know it is a bold statement because I know there’s some fantastically strong teams in our league who have spent well and have good experience and brought in goal-scorers.
“It is going to be even tougher than last season, but because of our togetherness I feel we have a group that can compete for the play-offs.”
Stocksbridge’s First Five League Fixtures
September 19th – Kidsgrove Athletic (H)
September 26th – Loughborough Dynamo (H)
September 29th – Sheffield FC (A)
October 3rd – Lincoln United (A)
October 10th – Stamford (A)
If you have enjoyed reading Non League Yorkshire over the past few months, please consider making a donation to the not-for-profit organisation NLY Community Sport which provides sport for children and adults with disabilities and learning difficulties. CLICK HERE to visit the JustGiving page. There is a video at the bottom of the page showing our work.
NLY Community Sport, run by James Grayson and Connor Rollinson, has always had combatting social isolation at the top of our objectives when running our Disability Football teams. As we slowly return to ‘action’, our work will play an important role in reintroducing our players, who have disabilities and learning difficulties, back into society.
We have six teams, a mixture of Junior and Adult teams – Nostell MW DFC, Pontefract Pirates, Selby Disability Football Club and the South Yorkshire Superheroes (Barnsley) – across Yorkshire.
We have enjoyed great success over the past three years. Several of our players have represented Mencap GB in Geneva, including Billy Hobson from Selby and Greg Smith, whose story is quite inspiring.
Like most organisations, we have been affected financially by the Coronavirus and because of the cancelled Lucille Rollinson Memorial Tournament, we are down on projected income for the year and we have incurred losses in the last few months.
We have not been hit as badly as other organisations, but we do need raise £2000 to put us back at the level we were at in mid-March and enable us to make a difference once again to our players’ lives in the future, without having financial worries. Several of our players are suffering from effects of the lockdown and we are determined to be in the strongest position possible to provide services for them.
Any amount raised above £2000 will be put towards new projects (when the world returns to normal) designed to further benefit people with disabilities and learning difficulties. You can learn more about the organisation HERE and on our Facebook page.
Watch the video below to see highlights from our three years as an organisation. The video was produced for our players at the end of March to remind them of good memories from the last three years.