With the news now broken regards the signing of Evan Garnett, I just wanted to give a general squad update to keep supporters in the loop about recent comings and goings but also, I wanted to take the opportunity to give some insight into the job of a non league manager as well as a little on how the people at the club operate behind the scenes- something supporters often know very little to nothing about. I feel this is a good time to do this after a recent shuffle round of the squad.

First off, I am delighted to welcome Evan to the club. He has scored 52 goals in the last 2 seasons for Long Eaton in this league and won the NPL Midlands golden boot last season. He certainly adds massive quality to our front line and natural goal scoring ability. Evan has played for me before and we’ve kept in regular contact on a personal level over the last 5 years and the minute I felt the door may be slightly ajar in terms of bringing him to the club, I’ve worked relentlessly to make it happen. Evan also showed a strong desire to come here. He turned down much better financial offers and also longer contracts to sign for us and he has come to the club for absolutely the right reasons. He’s a local lad and feels there is some unfinished business at the club after previous stints. He’s already scored 32 for the club in 91 appearances in the past but he has certainly adapted his game and is coming back to the club as a different type of striker, with an enhanced goalscoring record as stated above.

I mentioned before about myself working relentlessly on this, but also other transfers in recent weeks.

However, none of it would be possible without the work of the club, in particular Dave Winterbotham who has answered my calls at all hours, replied to texts whilst on family holidays abroad and even had to access and send emails and forms at sea whilst on a cruise. We manage this alongside our day jobs, running businesses, running family homes (in my case with three young children) - it is hugely time and effort consuming. In fact I am writing this statement from Leeds, where I have been from 7am until 5pm on the next installment of my UEFA B coaching qualification. And I’ll be back there tomorrow for the next installment. This job is full time in itself, but we do it because we love it and we have a passion for the club and the town.

Signings like Evan don’t just fall into your lap. We are not asking for thanks for what we do - we choose to be in the game, but as I said earlier, I think it’s important to give fans an insight so they can appreciate what we put into the club. It might be Step 4, but it is our Premier League.

As is the nature with non league, we also see movement out the door. Whilst this is sometimes sad, especially for long serving and popular players, I always make decisions in the best interests of the club. Sometimes it is because things run their course, sometimes it is a drop off in performance, sometimes it is because we have to balance the books if we want to bring other players in and sometimes it’s because the player wants to leave!!

It is different for every player and is not always as black and white as some people seem to think it is. Some players departing may boggle minds at times, but we can’t keep everybody and we have to work within set parameters, so difficult decisions sometimes need making. Timing is everything in football and we collectively make decisions that we feel move us forward as a football club. As a manager, I have to make decisions that in the first instance may feel unpopular. I am comfortable with that because it is always with the bigger picture and our long term interests at heart - that will never change whilst I am here.

In recent weeks we have seen long serving captain Jack Broadhead depart. A really sad one as I brought him to the club and made him captain. He’s been superb for us and is also a great lad off the pitch. I genuinely wish him and his family nothing but the best. This season, with the form particularly of Louis Keenan and the balance of a left footed CB, Jacks game time was limited and it felt the right time for all parties for the move to happen.

Jack Edwards also left us this week. In recent weeks he too has found game time limited and felt he wanted to play more regularly closer to home. He is also potentially looking at joining the fire service which could affect his Saturday availabilities moving forwards. Again, things that people would not know. He is another talented player and a top, honest lad- again we wish him well.

Lewis Austin, Tom Eccleshall and Jack Rogers are currently all on duel registrations at Step 5 clubs getting valuable minutes and experience into them, with a run of games that will only serve to boost their confidence.

On the back of those, we welcome Charlie Knowles to the club. Those who follow closely will have seen he started on Saturday and put in a good performance against Rushden and Diamonds. He gives us a different type of option in central midfield.

As always, we will continue to monitor what is available in the transfer market but three core principals will always be at the forefront of my mind:

1- are they good enough?
2- are they affordable?
3- do they genuinely have a desire to play for this club?

If the answer to all three is yes, we will see what we can do. But all boxes need to be ticked. If truth be told, in the summer, we found it difficult to replace the quality we had lost from some really big non league players. We knew we’d have to reshuffle the pack and try and recruit sensibly as we go. The non league market is certainly shifting and we are working alongside that whilst being sensible and sustainable.

With the signing of Evan, I feel like we are one big step closer to being where we need to be and I have a sense of feeling that our season starts from here.

Thanks for all of the continued support. If any fans see me before games, come and have a chat and ask some questions - I will always try and answer them as honestly as I can.