It’s been a case of drawing on a long list of contacts for new Beaconsfield Town manager, Garry Haylock, as he oversees a complete rebuild of the playing staff ahead of the Rams’ Pitching In Southern League Division One Central campaign.
The club succumbed to relegation on goal difference at the end of last season despite amassing 48 points, but it’s been all change amongst the playing and coaching staff over the summer.
“I’m 53 years of age now and have been involved in the game all of my life, I’ve never done anything else,” Haylock told his club’s media. “I’ve operated at every level from League One down to Step 7 and during that time have built up a huge number of contacts.
“When I came in here, we only had one player left from last season and when you lose the amount of players we did, it becomes all about recruitment, which is massive and in recent years has become an industry all of its own.
“Getting players in has become an increasingly difficult and time-consuming job. Every signing takes 30 to 40 phone calls on top of all of the negotiations and the back and forth which comes with it.
“I am lucky to have Sam [Togwell, assistant manager] and Tristan [Lewis, technical director] alongside me to pick up some of the slack and we’ve been able to put together a new squad, which is gelling together all of the time.
“I’d like to think that we’ll be competitive at the start of the season and then gradually build and grow into it and be able to look towards the top half of the table.
“This is a long-term project, which will take time. I’ve done a lot of FA Courses in my time and I remember one of them we had a ‘Culture Specialist’ come in. He talked about how you build a culture at a club and how it generally takes two or three years, minimum 18 months with no injuries or personnel changes.
“There were some prominent managers on this course and one of them asked how are you able to achieve this when the average life span of a manager in the Championship is just 13 months.
“It’s a valid point and the expert had no answer to it. We’re realistic here and we know that with all of the changes, things aren’t going to happen overnight. It will take time and we will do what we can.
“Sometimes it can come down to fine margins. We could find a striker that will score the goals that can make all the difference, who knows? It’s a case of how long is a piece of string, but we will be working hard and giving it everything we’ve got, which is all you can ask.”
A trip to new-boys Northwood awaits on the opening day of the season on Saturday, August 10th.
IMAGE: Beaconsfield Town FC
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