The enforced break has given Toolstation NCEL Division One leaders Campion an opportunity to conduct a deep inquiry on their stuttering end to October, according to Lee Ashforth.
The Bradford-based outfit flew out of the blocks by winning their opening seven matches before three defeats in four matches concluded the ‘first stanza of the campaign’ before the shutdown.
The final two games were a 5-4 defeat to Parkgate and a 5-3 home loss to then-manager-less Armthorpe Welfare.
Campion responded by recruiting Penistone Church centre-back Tom Brennan and old face Leon Hurles-Brook from Silsden and Ashforth says new faces were needed.
“I’ve said to players from day one that they’ll be a period where we’ll get complacent,” Ashforth told Non League Yorkshire.
“I said that to the players after the Parkgate game and I said it again after the Armthorpe game.
“I think we got complacent and you look inwards before you look outwards. Myself and (joint manager) James Bicknell had a look at ourselves and realised we could improve it. We felt we had become complacent.
“We were on such a good run and we were, we were on such a fantastic run. Then we went to Parkgate and the game should have been dead and buried and we let them back into it.
“Armthorpe; we never clawed it back. We were disappointed in ourselves but while we don’t blame the players we did have to make a couple of changes and we’ve done that.
“We brought in Tom Brennan and brought back Leon Hurles-Brook from Silsden. We just felt we needed to freshen up the squad. Sometimes players can get comfortable in positions and if you want to win the league you need competition across the pitch.
“We’re now looking to forward to Saturday, the batteries are recharged and we restart the season again.
“We’re back to a full squad of health. We had a few injuries and the lockdown helped us get those players back fit. Marcus Day is back fit now. Mohammed Qasim is back so we are in a good position with the squad.
“It is now about picking the right players and going on a run. We’ve got two games against Selby and Emley coming up so it will be a tough old start to get the campaign going again.”
Saturday sees the return of NCEL after the hiatus and Campion will host Selby Town. Normally it would have ‘humdinger’ written all over it but Ashforth agrees that the clash has a strange feel to it.
“You do want to play and you do want the season to get going and not be stop-start,” he said.
“It is really difficult and it is a season like no other. Normally you’d be going into Saturday’s game saying we’re top, they’d bottom and we’re on a bad run and it is massive game but it is not like that because we’ve had a month’s break.
“Selby have brought in a few players, we’ve brought in a couple of players and it is like the end of pre-season where we have a fresh start but have points in the bank. It is a bit weird.
“But I think the majority of teams want to get on with it and get playing. Now supporters are allowed back, I think people want to get some competitive games in the bank and get back to some kind of normality.”
Asked if Selby are an unknown quantity because of their recent squad changes, he said: “I think you’d have to say that because they’ve brought players in.
“It must have been really tough for them. When the season ended last season anybody who said Selby weren’t going to win the league would have been a brave man. They were on a right run and they had some really good players and you expected them to start this season to continue that form.
“It has been difficult for them and they’ve had Covid issues and a lot of games called off. We’ve played 11, they’ve played six.
“You have to feel for Christian (Fox), he’s done a fantastic job there. I don’t know him particularly well but he’s done a great job with Selby. Taking North Ferriby out of the equation, they’re now one of the most well-supported clubs in the league.
“I’m sure he’ll have Selby fired up and I’m sure his team-talk will be similar to ours. We’ll be going in and saying ‘it is the first game of the season’.”
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. When we properly 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.
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.