Beverley boss targets historic promotion to the NCEL

Humber Premier League 

Mike Thompson is aiming to guide Beverley Town to promotion to the Toolstation NCEL for the first time in the club’s history this season.

The Humber Premier League champions are targeting more glory and have their eyes firmly fixed on the NCEL. 

The planned installation of floodlights at their Norwood home have received planning permission and Bottesford Town great Thompson is excited about the future.

“We have got to crack on from what we achieved on-the-pitch last season and if everything works out in the way we want it to and the way we expect it to, it will be an historic year,” Thompson told Non League Yorkshire.

“That’s because we’ll end up playing football at the highest level the club has ever played at the start of next season.

“It is a massive season.

“I went into the job with a two-year plan and that’s what we out-lined with the committee and the board.

“They would be doing their work in the background on ground grading requirements and I promised that we would have a two-year project where we’d get the team where it needed to be.

“You look at what we achieved last year and I couldn’t be happier with what we did and how the boys applied themselves.

“We have made a couple of adjustments and brought in a bit of quality where we needed it.

“There wasn’t a big overhaul because of how well we played last year.

“But I think the main aspect of Beverley Town developing off-the-pitch and that’s going great guns at the minute.

“It is exciting times ahead for the next 18 months.”

Bridlington Town striker Chris Adams is Beverley’s marquee summer signing. 

Adams is one of four new recruits alongside Josh Eccles (Barton Town), Tom Kerrins (Westella & Willerby) and 17-year-old goalkeeper Luke Scaife who steps up from junior football.

To put themselves them in the promotion reckoning, Beverley can finish anywhere in the top five.

But Thompson won’t be settling for just scraping into those places.

“I hate the way they define it,” he said.

“You have to finish in the top five which is baffling to me.

“We won the league last year and we’ve set a benchmark and that’s where we want to be.

“When the committee came to me and said ‘Thommo you only have to finish in the top five’ – that doesn’t fit with my psyche.

“On the football pitch we want to do everything to replicate last season’s achievements and success.

“If we do that I’ve every faith that everything will be sorted in the background to get us in the NCEL next season.”

Aside from the work on Norwood, Thompson is thrilled with a further major development that the club have benefited massive from.

“The whole of Beverley Town Football Club from the juniors through to the men’s and ladies teams  now have a floodlit 4G facility which has just been built at the Leisure Centre,” he said.

“It gives a real feel of a community club.

“We have dedicated days which is fabulous.

“It also protects Norwood which is a fantastic pitch in its own right.”

The picture Thompson has painted of Beverley is one of a progressive club and one with a bright future.

A lot though hinges on the actual instalment of the lights – but he’s confident that will happen in time for meeting the FA and NCEL’s deadlines.

“We have had the (NCEL) ground graders down already for a pen and paper exercise so they could tell us what we need to do when we apply,” he said.

“There’s one bit of work that needs to be done around hard standing and that needs to be done by March.

“One thing that was stopping us (from applying before) was the (lack of) lights. 

“The lights have been approved (by the council) and we have got the green light.

“We have got a great company in Abacus Lighting who are doing the consulting and work for us.

“Sponsorship is being sought and we have some match funding already so as that develops the pylons will go up in my opinion.

“Everything that needs to be done is in hand to get us in the NCEL for next season.

“From our point of view, everything that the guys on the committee have worked towards for a few years, even before I came, like the lights has come to fruition.”

Beverley’s first league game of the season is at LIV Supplies next Saturday.

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. 

Our work is playing 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.