WEEKLY BULLETIN – 3RD MAY
MANAGER’S NOTES BY BRETT DONNELLY
Firstly I want to take the opportunity to apologise for not being able to keep the club up. I knew it was going to be a tough ask but thought I would be able to turn it around in time to save us. Sadly the 5 points wasn’t good enough and Sudbury put a great run together to snatch it. Gutted doesn’t quite cover it. But I am a realist. We weren’t good enough for long periods of the season and that’s what got us relegated. Not the last 7 games. It was great to see the fans after the game giving us a round of appreciative applause when really everyone was thinking how can we celebrate a relegation? It wasn’t a celebration it was a commiseration but also a line in the sand moment I feel. The supporters I spoke with long after the game were of the same opinion. What’s done is done but hopefully it’ll mean better times ahead. That I will guarantee. As long as I am here, we won’t find ourselves in this position again. I think we could all feel a weight lifted. Almost as if the not knowing our outcome was worse than the relegation itself.
For me it is a chance to clear the decks and put my stamp on things which is happening as we speak. You are going to see massive changes in the playing squad & management team. Losing can be a virus that spreads and sadly its deep rooted in the squad I inherited. It needs cutting away. So that means you won’t see many faces coming back, a process we have already begun. I want to shake up the club top to bottom. It’s something I took great pride in doing at Stotfold. There, I had a great relationship with the chairman, committee, volunteers, and management team of all squads. It’s something I will be implementing here as well. No more negativity around the place. It’s something I’ve picked up on. Or not changing things as it’s not been done like that for a long time. Let’s change it, let’s improve. I will be getting my point across. I want to spread the positivity across the club. We all push in the same direction. If something can’t be done, why can’t it be done? Let’s find answers and solutions. Let’s aim high and see where it takes us. No more celebrating failure or applauding effort. That’s for your kids or non-competitive sport. I want the winning atmosphere back around Top Field.
Next season I want fans, volunteers, players, management, committee members all singing from the same page. We don’t want any divisions. I want us as one. I don’t care about any other teams or about upsetting anyone who doesn’t want what’s best for Hitchin Town. Nice wins nothing and it’s time we think about ourselves and not what the outside world thinks of us. We all do our jobs to the best of our ability and we will be a force next season. I promise that.
So don’t be down about the relegation. Look forward to the future. Stick with us, it’s going to be exciting.
NEW HOME AND AWAY SHIRTS
Our fantastic new shirts for 24/25 have launched this week and are available to pre-order now. We have worked hard on producing a high quality shirt and design and so are delighted at the positive reaction following their launch and the sales have already been going really well.
To ensure you are the first to get your hands on one of our new shirts ensure you place your order by the first pre-order window deadline which is 12th May. We will then continue to run further windows as we move towards pre-season and expect to also have shirts and other new fanwear items such as hoodies available to purchase from the Top Field Club Shop from the start of our Pre-Season fixtures in early July.
Full details here: NEW HOME AND AWAY SHIRTS – Hitchin Town FC
Online shop here: Merchandise | Hitchin Town Tickets (ktckts.com)
ATTENDANCE LEAGUE TABLE
We finished seventh in the Southern League Central Division attendance table with a remarkable average of 617.
TOP FIELD
The end of season renovation work has been taking place this week to ensure Top Field is in pristine condition for the new season. Once again I must pay tribute to Steve Barker and his team for the magnificent playing surfaces they produced throughout the season and for the fact that we did not have a game called off because of the weather.
BULLETIN
I aim to produce a weekly bulletin throughout the close season. Brett has agreed to keep producing his manager’s notes and I will give details of pre-season friendlies and new signings together with any other news from Top Field.
DAMON LATHROPE
Congratulations to Damon Lathrope who was this week appointed as assistant head coach at Watford. Damon was head of youth development at Hitchin running our academy. He was also a first team coach and joined the club after injury ended his playing career.
He also worked part time at the Watford academy and after this he was appointed as the Watford Ladies manager. Now new manager Tom Cleverley has appointed Damon to his coaching department.
When I interviewed Damon in 2021I included the following sentence in my article—
‘’I found Damon to be motivated and inspirational. When I asked him what his ambition was he immediately said he wanted to coach in the Premier League—and I would not bet against it!’’ I am very happy to have been proved right!
ACADEMY UPDATE BY MICHAEL JONES
On Tuesday 30th April we had five players go to a VAR Pro:Direct tournament at Loughborough University. The players formed a team with other local Pro:Direct sites to play against some very good non league academy teams.
The tournament was a great success with the team winning all 5 games played which meant they finished as winners of the tournament.
We would like to congratulate Chris Khoo, Caleb Wright, Govind Bains, Joel Jolly and Henry Silver on their excellent win.
HTWFC UPDATE BY CALLUM ELLIS
Results
HTWFC Firsts 0 v 0 Stotfold Ladies FC
HTWFC Canaries 0 v 0 LGCE Ladies
So the final weekend of the season, was another wash out and the league finalised the fixtures as draws. It has been one of the wettest seasons yet seeing so many fixtures postponed. It has seen our First team have a compact end of season trying to get the games played and having to host two midweek games on the bounce along with the Sunday fixtures. We have to remember our players are not athletes who train everyday. They are normal everyday people with work & family commitments. Their football isn’t a career at this level. People need to remember that when they start throwing the midweek fixtures in. Previous seasons have seen us go into May however the league have out a cut off date when the weather starts to turn nice for once. So it’s a rush to find pitches with floodlights. In a couple of weeks you’ll be seeing our end of season review which will be an interesting read for you followers.
So with the one point awarded to both teams, it sees our First team safe from relegation and sadly it’s relegation for our Canaries. However we do not see it as a negative. The Canaries were a newly built team this year. Jamie has done incredibly well to build a new football team. Some players have never played football before. We’ll be looking forward to them getting stronger and bouncing back.
It was heartbreak at Top Field Saturday, with a number of our players & committee celebrating ‘Women at the Game Day’. We have never seen so much appreciation to HTFC than ever before and it is all down to the team of dedicated volunteers who make this club. So we applaud you. Volunteers are the backbone of HTFC and within the wider HTFC Community. Without the band of dedicated volunteers, teams wouldn’t have Chairpersons, coaches, secretaries, welfare officers, first aiders, linespersons, & so much more. So it’s a huge thank you from us to them.
Recruitment
As our season ends, we look to build the 2024/2025 season. We have plenty of voluntary opportunities available at HTWFC so please click on https://www.hitchintownwomenfc.co.uk/clubinfo/Vacancies
Preseason
Our preseason will start on Tuesday 2nd July 2024. Location to be confirmed, keep an eye out on our socials.
ROY IZZARD