BERKHAMSTED | CLEAR VISION

Patel plots a big win

There was a happy ending to a difficult week for Pitching In Southern League Premier Central outfit, Berkhamsted.

A 6-0 loss at Stourbridge was followed three days later by a 4-0 home reverse at the hands of AFC Sudbury and the subsequent resignation of promotion-winning manager, Steve Heath.

It meant that caretaker-manager, Trishan Patel, and his backroom team faced a tough task to rally the troops ahead of their trip to play-off hopefuls, Hitchin Town, on Saturday, particularly as they went there with just one win from their 23 League games.

Such is the beauty and unpredictability of football that despite trailing at the break, a rousing second half performance saw them emerge as 3-1 winners, much to the delight of Patel in his first game at the helm.

“I absolutely loved it,” he told us. “To share a long-awaited win with the players, staff and supporters was special and it was even more pleasing that we showed tremendous character and resilience to come back from a goal down to win the game.

“When the club asked if I would assist with the transition period until they appointed a permanent management team, I jumped at the opportunity. I phoned my trusted right-hand man Aaron Morgan and we began the preparation process to help organise the team and seek to boost morale as soon as we could.

“A deserved hard fought win for everyone associated with Berkhamsted Football Club to savour and enjoy.”

So, what was the secret to the success?

“I think it was having a clear vision of what the players required in this moment in time,” continued Patel. “I wanted to give them absolute clarity of what we will look like in and out of possession as well the non-negotiables of working hard for each other and playing with an intensity.

“Myself and Aaron designed a session which covered these key aspects and the main message was to play with freedom and without fear.

“We only had two days of preparation but those days were filled with lots of phone calls to players as well as online tactical zoom sessions to assist our 3-5-2 game plan.

“I am extremely proud of the players and staff and we could not have achieved this victory without a togetherness approach. Everyone contributed and it certainly serves as a lesson that sticking together and trusting each other will take you a long way.

“I know it has been a challenging season so far, but I am hoping this could spark a revival in fortunes for this group of players and the incoming new management team.

“Winning games of football is never easy and I would like to give a mention to the previous manager, Steve Heath, who I know worked tirelessly to bring success. Unfortunately, things did not work out but the group of players that won today were brought in by him so he deserves some credit too.”

Patel is a UEFA A Licensed coach with over 17 years of coaching experience under his belt. He is Performance Analyst for the Pakistan National Team, where he is working hard in preparing the team for the World Cup qualifiers, to cap a memorable 2023.

“It has been an amazing year for me,” he added. “Being part of Berkhamsted’s promotion to Step 3 as assistant manager and then getting the call-up from Paul Fairclough to join the England C coaching team that beat Wales C before most recently helping guide the Berkhamsted Under-18s to the FA Youth Cup first round proper as manager.

“I hope to one-day land in the professional game but for now I have been working extremely hard to develop myself as a coach and now as a manager. Saturday gave me a taste of what management can feel like on a good day and it has certainly whetted the appetite!”

Pictured we see Trishan alongside Aaron Morgan, Danny Siggers, Alasan Ann and Rory McMullen after plotting Saturday’s win; next up they host Leamington next weekend.

Berkhamsted Web Site