NPL Division One East
Mike Thompson says Bridlington Town are looking up the table and have no intention of being involved in a relegation scrap.
The new Bridlington manager recently replaced departed player/manager Brett Agnew who performed miracles to keep the Seasiders in the NPL.
Thompson now believes Brid can push on and not be fighting it out at the bottom.
“I think from the outside looking in, people think we’ll be in a relegation battle again,” Thompson told Non League Yorkshire.
“Brett did a phenomenal job to keep the club in the league and that’s to my benefit.
“I’m great mates with Brett inside and outside of football and I’ve got great admiration for what he achieved.
“I think it will small changes in environment that will make a difference.
“Yes, we’ll bring more quality in and I’m already having conversations with players from the league and the league above.
“They’ll come and improve us.
“That culture and environment shift and the way my management team and medical team are going to do things will give a natural bounce to the club.
“Those fine margins will enable us to compete higher up the league.
“I look at Bridlington finished and I have put some com-parables in place to other teams who I look at and think squad-wise are not too dissimilar.
“I look at the fine margins at when goals are scored and when goals are conceded and I know where we can improve.
“When I delve even deeper I look at points variation between 15th and 8th and it is minimal.
“The lads did a great job in the last month of the season to pull themselves out of danger and I’d love to think five or seven places higher up the table is very achievable if we get the recruitment right.
“I want to be in a position where we’re looking up.”
Thompson served Brid as a player and coach and he stood down as manager of Beverley Town, who he guided to Step 6 football for the first time, to return to Queensgate.
“With my history at Brid from playing and coaching there, when they came calling it was tough to say no,” he said.
“I did think about it because we had been building at Beverley and the work we had done over two years was massive.
“We had to get a club ready, not just for the NCEL on-the-pitch, but also behind the scenes.
“A lot of heart and dedication went into getting that done.
“It was a tough one for me personally, but it was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down.”
Thompson goes down as one of the few managers who have jumped from Step 7 to Step 4 football in one leap.
Thompson accepts he is a rarity and appreciates the amount of faith Brid chairman Pete Smurthwaite and his club has in him.
“I’m really proud of what they see in,” he said.
“They see the ability in me to move the club forward.
“I went away with best wishes from Pete two years and he’s kept an eye on the progress that we have made (at Beverley).
“The jump in steps is big, but my mentality and how I do things won’t change.
“We have been extremely professional in how we have conducted ourselves at Humber Premier League level and that’s bore its fruit.
“We have won things, set records and I have had lads who have dropped down levels and bought into me which has given me a lot of confidence that I’m able to attract the right people.”