With the 2024/2025 Southern Combination Football League Division One season upon the horizon, the club sat down with Mullet’s manager Craig Stuart to discuss his thoughts on the new season.
With the curtain about to be raised on his third season at the helm, Craig is hoping to improve on the respected 8th and 7th place finishes over the past two seasons.
“I am expecting us to have a good season. Our younger players now have that extra years’ experience under their belts, and there is a real buzz around – not only with the players and staff, but the whole club behind the scenes at the moment. Trust me when I say – we will be right up there this season. I can’t wait to get started”
Despite losing key player Matt Storm over the summer, which saw the front man move to Step 4 Littlehampton, Craig has managed to keep the vast majority of the squad together, as well as add firepower to what already looks an impressive squad.
“After the progress we made last season in terms of consolidating our league position, having two very good cup runs and continuing to develop our young players, it was extremely important we kept the squad together for this season. We have also been able to add some real quality to the team in Ollie Humphries, Ben Hack, Arses Tsoungui, Sean Culley, Billy Grounds, Ollie Craydon and Josh Castle”
Reflecting on a busy pre-season schedule, which saw.the club lift the Bill Merrett Challenge Trophy with an excellent 2-1 victory over Littlehampton last weekend, and a comfortable 5-0 victory over Division 2 opposition in Ferring – the period also brought defeats against Newhaven and Crawley Down Gatwick – and concluded with a 2-0 midweek defeat to Rustington.
“We have had a long and tough pre-season. We have worked the lads hard in training and we have played a lot of games. I deliberately selected games for us this preseason which would test us – there is no point thumping teams four and five nil every week, because that is where you get found out when the real games start in August.”
“We were excellent against Ferring and Littlehampton – and despite the scoreline, we were decent against Newhaven, it was a tight game for most of the match, we just ran out of steam. The only performance I was less than happy with was against Rustington where we were not at the races. That will not be the case come Saturday. We need to be, and will be at it.”
Having returned to the club two years ago after a period which saw him take up coaching roles at East Preston and Storrington, Craig is happy with what he is seeing both on and off the pitch at the club.
“Two years ago, when I came back to the club we were literally starting from scratch. We had a very limited number of players – and the ones we inherited had just come off a real tough season where the club struggled and moral was low.”
“We managed to put together a squad of young, honest players who have learnt a lot over the last two season, and are now ready to be let off the leash. We have mixed those with experienced players – the likes of Steve Herbert, Rob Madden, Harry Russell, Luke Fenlon and Ryan Quirke – with this blend, I believe we have the recipe for success.”
“Off the pitch things are also looking very promising with the new committee in place, the plans we have with the digital side of the club, and how we are engaging with local businesses and charities.”
This weekend see’s the Mullets take on Billingshurst at Mill Road in what is expected to be a tightly contested affair.
“Billingshurst are traditionally a decent side, and we had some real nip and tuck games with them last season. It is a good one to start with as it will show us where we are. Billingshurst will not come to sit behind the ball – they will be aggressive and will be coming with their own aspirations of having a successful season. We will need to be at our best to kick the season off with a victory.”
Kick off at Mill Road tomorrow is at 15:00. Price on the gate is £7.00 adults and £5 for concessions. Children Under the age of 14 free of charge when accompanied by an adult.
