TEAM OF THE SEASON | PREMIER SOUTH REACTION

We hear from Alex Lafleur and Will Spetch

As the debate over the Team of the Season selections rumbles on, we speak to some of the players who have made it into the Pitching In Southern League Premier South team.

For Champions, Chesham United, Alex Lafleur, secured his place in the left-back slot following a campaign which also saw him grace Nuneaton Borough.

“It’s a great achievement for me,” he told us. “I am really proud to be in the team and send a massive thank you to everyone at both Chesham and Nuneaton.

“This season has been everything I dreamed of. My aim was to be in and around the play-offs and have a chance of silverware, so to go beyond that and win the League is brilliant.

“We have a great team togetherness at Chesham and it really shows on the pitch. We all work hard for each other and know what the requirements are from the managers.

“Having sampled both the Premier South and Premier Central, they such competitive Leagues where everyone is more than capable of beating each other.

“Chesham have been there or thereabouts for a number of years, but this time around we were able to show the level of consistency which made all of difference.

“My aim now is to build a platform for myself at National League South level and really kick-on. For the club, we have to be confident to continue to push on for success. We know it’s going to be hard work but that’s what makes it feel even better when you succeed.”

Also taking his place in the back-line is Will Spetch of Dorchester Town. The Dorset club enjoyed a strong second half of the campaign which saw them finish just inside the top ten.

“To get into the Team of the Season at the age of 33 is a great achievement,” he said with a smile. “It’s been a rather strange season for me; it began with Poole Town, where I had been for 16 years, but when the club sacked Tommy Killick after seven games, a few of us decided to leave the club and three of us ended up at Dorchester Town.

“A couple of weeks later Tommy also joined us as manager and he got the club moving in the right direction!

“It was always going to take a bit of time for things to gel together, but performances started to improve around November/December time, even though we weren’t getting the points from them that we deserved.

“After Christmas something just clicked and we went on a fantastic run of just one loss in 18 games which saw us finish the season strongly, in ninth place.

“To see teams with 48 points getting relegated from our League this season is absolute madness, but it just shows how tight things are and I am expecting exactly the same during the season ahead. There are some big clubs that are going to be added to the mix too.

“Hopefully we can pick up where we left off and make the play-offs this time.”

With almost 26,000 votes cast, we thank everyone who took part. Here is a reminder of the Pitching In Southern League Premier South Team of the Season 2023/24.

PREMIER SOUTH | Sam Beasant (Hanwell Town), Lewis Rolfe (Chesham United), Alex Lafleur (Chesham United), Will Spetch (Dorchester Town), Callum Adebiyi (Chesham United), Josh Hedges (Salisbury), Trevor Caborn (Winchester City), Ricardo Rees (Merthyr Town), Ricardo German (Chesham United), Elis Watts (Hungerford Town), Jack Rice (Tiverton Town).

Subs: Zaki Oualah (Chesham United), Ollie Haste (Dorchester Town), Tom Handley (Merthyr Town), Charlie Davis (Sholing), Alex John (Merthyr Town), Noah Coppin (Salisbury), Dan Wooden (Gosport Borough).