Angels all geared up for promotion push

TONBRIDGE ANGELS have splashed out £120,000 on ground improvements this summer to get their Longmead Stadium ground up to Blue Square South standards, writes Stephen McCartney.

The Ryman Premier League club have increased its seating capacity to 720 - this figure was going to be 666 but extra seats have been installed in the stand.

Improvements have also been made to the bars, home dressing room and the directors/press stand at the stadium at Darenth Avenue.

Now that these improvements have been made, it’s now up to manager Tommy Warrilow to clinch promotion in his first full season in charge.

Since replacing Tony Dolby at the helm last November, the club went from second-bottom to finish in eighth place - just five points adrift of competing in the end of season play-off lottery, which was won by AFC Wimbledon, who clinched promotion with champions Chelmsford City - two big-spending clubs.

“We’re a football club where we’re confident with the squad we’ve got,” said chairman Nick Sullivan, when speaking to www.kentishfootball.co.uk yesterday.

“I would say this season the League is very much harder than its ever been because last season it was always the case of Wimbledon and Chelmsford would probably get promoted because of their financial backing.

“Now there’s probably eight sides who could actually win the title.”

When Celtic fan Garry Pass bought half of the club last season, he vowed to improve Longmead Stadium and fans have been impressed with the results.

And Mr Sullivan said: “When Garry Pass bought 50% of the club he wanted to concentrate getting the stadium ready and upgraded, which he has done and I’ve concentrated on the football side of it and it works very, very well.

“We’ve got a fantastic relationship and we’re very pleased with it, it does look very good.

“This is the start of my fourth season in charge and when I look back, when I took over, the club was going backwards. It owed money all over the place and the ground and the team were not worthy.

“But slowly but surely we’ve pushed it forward and last season with Garry coming on board it’s enabled us to kick on again.”

The Angels face stiff competition from the likes of Dover Athletic, Sutton United, Dartford and Carshalton Athletic, and the usual other suspects, to land the Ryman Premier League title.

“There’s some good sides in there, it’s going to be hard,” said Mr Sullivan.

“We’re quietly confident in the squad we’ve got. Garry, Tommy and I work very, very closely together (and) we’ve got the squad that’s capable - but time will tell.”

Mr Sullivan believes the club can attract crowds of at least 600 this season, starting with their first home games against Harlow Town (Tuesday, 19^th August) and Staines Town, last season’s play-off final losers (23^rd August).

“Last season our average was 520 and you look to increase that,” said Mr Sullivan.

“If we play the football we’re capable of and we’re successful, the crowds will come.

“Every season all I look for is progression and each year so far we’ve improved on the last year and if we improve this year on what we did last year, we won’t be too far away.

“When Tommy took over last November we were second bottom in the League and we’ve come a long way but there’s a long way to go.”

Mr Sullivan is more than happy to continue as chairman of the west Kent club, but says the club do not have a bottomless pit.

He said: “When you’ve spent the amount of money we’ve spent on the stadium and back of house of the stadium as well, the bars have been done as well as the home team dressing room and the gym and everything, it’s a lot of money and it’s not an bottomless pit.

“You’ve got to have a plan and it all takes time but when the times right and the finances are right, we’ll kick on again.

“When I said I’d initially do it (become chairman), I said I’ll do it for three years and I’ve taken it so far.

“The progression with Garry coming on board was very important. We’ve got a fantastic working relationship and I’m chairman in name but we’re both chairmen, it’s joint.

“We both have different aspects of the club that we look after but we meet in the middle and it works and as long as we both enjoy it, we’ll continue.

“Garry’s a good lad, he’s a football fanatic, he’s Celtic mad, he’s got season tickets up there but Tonbridge Angels has got in his blood.

“He had two aims and that was could the club get into the Blue Square South and the other aim was to upgrade the ground and he’s done one of them and we are a club that’s together.

“It’s not all about me and Garry, it’s all about us together; Tommy and the team, the supporters and as long as we stand together we’ll be alright.“

Visit Tonbridge Angels’ website: www.tonbridgeangels.co.uk