NPL Division One East
As a local lad, Wayne Benn has memories of Frickley Athletic’s heyday in the 1980s and he wants to end years of struggle and awaken a “sleeping giant”.
Bar brief flickers of lofty finishes under Ronnie Glavin, Gary Marrow, Karl Rose and Spencer Fearn, Frickley have had little success in the league since finishing second in 1986 (under Garforth Town manager Paul Marshall’s brother Sean) in what is now the National League.
Yet here they find themselves in the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division for the first time in their history after relegation last season.
Benn is picking up the pieces, but he foresees great potential at Westfield Lane.
“It has a history and it is seen as a big club in the area and back when I was a lad growing up they were at a very good level,” Benn told Non League Yorkshire.
“They have never been this low in their history.
“It is a shock to everyone and it will be a big eye-opener to everybody.
“No-one at Frickley is going to disrespect this level and think we have any right whatsoever to come in and have things our own way and bounce straight back up.
“It is ultra-competitive this league and there’s probably eight to ten teams that will have a push to win promotion.
“We have to be prepared for that, but this club is a sleeping giant. They can be a bigger club than they are.
“Apart from a few seasons, nearly every season (since 1986) has been a struggle against relegation.
“They have had reprieves, last day dramas – there hasn’t been many seasons where they have had a quiet tranquil mid-table finish.
“The first target is to get back into the Northern Premier League, but when we do, we want to be better equipped to stay there.
“That takes time though.”
Even though he was only appointed a few days ago, Benn has already seen signs that attendances will grow next season.
“Employing a local lad, as I live five minutes away, I think there is benefits to that,” he said.
“I’ve already had so many calls and messages from people who have stepped away from watching Frickley and say they are coming back now I’m there.
“There is a lot of positivity around the appointment in people saying it is good to see a local lad in charge.
“Hopefully we can get some local players in as well and obviously that will drive the crowds.
“The biggest thing that drives the crowds is the product on the pitch.
“If you’re playing good football and winning games, don’t worry about the crowds at Frickley.
“They’ll be there and we’ll be backed.”
That’s the long-term vision.
Short term, Benn and his assistant Andy Hayward are in a race against time as their late appointment means they will have to move fast to assemble a squad.
Pre-season begins in a couple of weeks and Benn is throwing the doors open for the first get-together as it will be an open training session.
That’s no surprise as he is building from ground zero.
“To be brutally honest I think most of last season’s squad have moved on,” he said.
“No players have made any intentions to stay clear as of yet.
“There may be one-or-two.
“There seems to have been a mass exodus after the disappointment (of relegation).
“You can look at that in a negative way and say ‘blimey, we’re starting from scratch’ or you can look at it as a blank canvas.
“That’s how we will view it.
“Don’t get me wrong it is a big challenge.
“We have to recruit and recruit as well as we can.
“We’re going to have use our contacts and put loads and loads of calls in to try and build a squad that will be capable of being competitive.
“We have spoken to several players already, and don’t forget it was only announced on Tuesday night.
“I’ve spoken to a dozen players and you have to be patient and wait for people to come back to you.
“A problem is a lot of players have already agreed to sign elsewhere.
“A lot of other teams are well-advanced in their recruitment.
“It is going to be difficult, you can’t click fingers and get 16 or 17 players together.
“It is going to take time and time is against us.
“We’re confident we can, even with the time constraints.
“It may take a while to get where we need to be and we not see what we’re going to look like this season until the really late stages of pre-season.
“Pre-season results and performances will bare no relevance to how our season will unfold.”
Regardless of how the opening few months of his reign pan out, Benn foresees a bright future at Westfield Lane.
“I spoke to the board and I was quite impressed by what I heard,” he said.
“I thought I could add value.
“We need to move towards being a community asset and to be really engaging the public and the surrounding areas.
“That’s what really interested me.
“There are plans afoot that will put Frickley in a much stronger and healthier place in the next couple of years.
“Despite facing a difficult situation, our job is to try and bring success.
“We have to have a period of consolidation and turn the negative stuff around.
“We have to try and get a feel good factor around the place and try and inject some positivity.
“That’s common sense.
“After a disappointing season there is a lot of frustrations and disappointment and I think our first job is to try and get people believing we can start moving the club in the right direction.
“We have to build brick by brick and there’s no quick fix.”