“Fighting spirit” is the most pleasing part of Handsworth’s fantastic start to the campaign, according to Russ Eagle.
The Ambers sit fifth having won four, drawn two and lost two of their opening eight Toolstation NCEL Premier Division matches.
The 1-1 draw at Grimsby Borough and the 3-2 victory at Thackley which both involved late goals have under-lined the strides Handsworth have made since last season’s difficult campaign and Eagle agrees.
“The only negative is we haven’t won all the games,” a joking Eagle told Non League Yorkshire.
“The changing room, the fighting spirit is the biggest positive. To go to Thackley and do what we did was outstanding. Thackley are a cracking side so to do what we did with a few minutes to go I was more than happy with that.
“We would have lost games like Grimsby and Thackley last year. I think the lads have got the spirit together because there’s a little bit more belief in what they are doing.
“I couldn’t have had asked for anything better at this stage when compared to where we were at this stage last year. What we needed as a club was some stability, some older heads and a little bit more consistency and I think we’re getting that now.
“We’re not a team which is up and down all the time. We’re putting good performances in and getting results. I know we have lost a couple and we had an off day against Brid who battered us.
“But we’re more than happy with where we are and we’re not even halfway into our project yet. The table means nothing at this stage of the season, but I think we have surprised a few people.
“There’s probably ten or 15 clubs who used to look at it and go ‘look at Handsworth, we’ll get something when they come to us’. Now I hope they go ‘flipping ‘eck Handsworth have put some wins together and it might not be as easy as it was last year’. That’s a big plus for us and a sign of progress.
“We have a plan this year to finish in a certain position in the league in the top ten and if we achieve that, that’s another season of progression and we keep going until we hit our potential in probably three or four seasons’ time.”
Handsworth now face their biggest test of them all when they head to promotion-chasing Liversedge tonight.
Eagle, who has appointed Aiden Spowage as his assistant with James Kay becoming first team coach, is still nursing the wounds of January’s 10-1 defeat to ‘Sedge and believes the game will be a marker of progression.
“It is two things for me; it is a free game against a side who I believe will win the league and it is also a game to say ‘this is where we are at this moment in time’,” he said.
“Let’s show them and ourselves how far we have come since when they drummed us 10-1 last season. We gave a good performance in the FA Vase earlier in the season so I know Rimmo (Jonathan Rimmington) won’t be thinking ‘this will be a walk in the park’.
“He’ll know he can win the game, but he’ll know we will come to upset them and get amongst them. I want my team to perform like we can and put a better showing on than last season.
“That was one of my darkest days in football and wasn’t one of the best weekends I’ve had. We were young and naive and they were relentless. We had no answers for them, but that game is the driving force for me for (tonight) tomorrow night.”
‘Sedge is the start of three difficult fixtures, but Eagle hopes to see a return of points from the matches.
“We’re coming up against seasoned teams and teams who are pushing,” he said.
“We’ve got three tricky games in Liversedge, Garforth and Mansfield. We need to get something out of them.
“If we can get five points, I’d be over the moon. If I got three points, I’d be over the moon. If I don’t get any, I’ll be devastated. We have to apply ourselves properly in the next three games.”
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.
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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.