The below will shortly appear in The Bristol Evening Post
19/12/2014
Smith: Community spirit can stimulate Wrington Redhill resurgence
SOMERSET County League Premier Division new-boys Wrington Redhill are hoping to mark their annual family fun day this Saturday with three more precious points in the battle to make waves at the higher end of the table.
The club are hoping the community descends on their Silver Street HQ in their numbers for the 2pm match with eighth-placed Cutters Friday, who they will draw level on points with if victory is attained.
While a children’s disco, a visit from Santa and a feast of food and drink, all organised and paid for by the players, will be served up to local foster children as well as families and friends of the club during the course of the day, boss Alan Smith is gearing his charges up for an important game, one he feels can go a long way to ensuring their new-found status in the County League’s top tier is maintained.
He said: “I’m targeting at least 12 points between now and the end of January which I feel will guarantee us safety. We’ve come such a long way, from being the worst team in the entire league to a competitive Premier Division side.
“At the moment we’re in a mid-table position with games in hand over virtually everyone above us, so if we can first ensure we’re safe, we can then maybe start to think about seeing how far up the table we can go.
“The first few months have been about adjusting to the league, getting to know the strengths and weaknesses of teams and learning from it. Over the second half of the season we should have a much better idea of what it’s all about.
“We had a little wobble a couple of weeks ago but the lads came fighting back with a great League Cup win (1-0) away at (third-placed) Bishops Lydeard at the weekend and hopefully that will spur us on to new heights again.”
New goalkeeper Gary Clarke, the one-time Ashton and Backwell United custodian, is set to make his Wrington debut this weekend having come in as a replacement for Street-bound shot-stopper Ben Dancey (see article below).
Smith has lost several other players to higher-status sides during the course of the campaign and he stressed: “I am always on the look-out for good local talent keen to use Wrington Redhill FC and the Somerset County League as a platform to go on and attain a better level of football.
“If anyone with such ambitions feels moved to get in touch with me, I’d be delighted to hear from them.”
Read more at http://www.somersetfa.com/somerset-fa/local-football-news#pq1gruEdT4QhGKOH.99