ANGELS’ IN HEAVEN: WE MUST LIVE WITHIN OUR MEANS IN CONFERENCE SOUTH - TOMMY WARRILOW

MISSION ACCOMLISHED.  It may have been a roller-coaster season with two enthralling play-off wins at the end of it, but Tonbridge Angels boss Tommy Warrilow now looks forward to leading the club into its inaugural Blue Square Bet South campaign in three months’ time, writes Stephen McCartney.


This season will go down in the history of Tonbridge Angels as the best one ever, having finished second in the Ryman Premier League table and clinching promotion via the play-off’s with epic wins over Harrow Borough and Lowestoft Town in the cauldron of passion that is Longmead Stadium.

The spirit both on the pitch and on the terraces was the catalyst of getting the club over the finishing line – skipper Scott Kinch who scored the second goal of their 3-2 epic win over Harrow Borough in midweek – played with two broken bones in his left wrist and inspired his team-mates into winning the seven-goal thriller against Lowestoft Town.

“Scott Kinch played with a broken arm so those sort of things deserve (promotion).  That’s the sort of mentality down here, how much these boys want to win,” said Warrilow.

“We’ve got to see what happens now, talk to the board.  We’ve got a lot of Kent derbies now so that will help with the gates and will get the fans in.

“It’s just about getting there.  It’s a different level.  I don’t know if it’s that much of a difference.  I know it’s a bit more physical but tonight’s about just enjoying today and we’ll talk about that once I come back from a little break, I’ll sit down with the board and see what we’ve got and who stays and who goes and we’ll go again.”

With 3,535 fans flocking through the turnstiles in their two play-off games in the past seven days, the club has massive potential.

“We have to get the profile of the club up,” said Warrilow.  “We’ve got the relationship with Hadlow College now (who will run our new academy next season) but we’ve got a good reputation now looking after players and playing good football.

“We‘ve finished third (last season), it’s always about progressing.  We’ve had a lot of ups and downs off the pitch.  We had a problem last year, we had to address the budget and everyone thought we was in trouble – but we wasn’t.  A few things happened but we had to cut our cloth accordingly. 

“We’ve got in this year, but we’ve kicked the door open for Conference South football.  It was always about promotion at the start of the season.  It’s alright saying it but doing it is another thing and this year we’ve done it.”

A board meeting takes place on Wednesday night and Warrilow will need to sit down with his current squad and discuss terms with his heroic players for next year.

“I’ve not spoken to the board.  We’ve got to talk to the boys, some of the boys have probably been got at already.  I’m not stupid.  If they have, they have.  One thing I’ve learnt is something will always turn up but I look after all these boys.  I want the majority of them to stay.  Obviously some will move on but that’s part and parcel of football but one thing I will do is leave the door open.”

With only two Kent clubs (Cray Wanderers and Margate) left in the Ryman Premier League, following the relegation of  Maidstone United and Folkestone Invicta, it was vitally important that the Angels clinched promotion as the Blue Square Bet South is full of tasty fixtures.

As we stand at present, Bromley, Dartford, Dover Athletic, Ebbsfleet United and Welling United are waiting for the Angels next season, and those games at Longmead Stadium will be well supported.

But Warrilow isn’t going into the new league just wanting to make the numbers up.

He said: “All we have to do is adapt ourselves to Conference South.  I’m just a little bit concerned.  I just don’t want to go in there and hope people will settle for a bit of stability, perhaps for another year.  We want to go in there and win it.

But he added: “We need to have a reality check and then see where we go.  There’s some big clubs in there but look at Dartford and Boreham Wood (who clinched promotion from the Ryman League 12 months ago).  They started slowly and they finished in good positions.  They’ll be stronger next season.

“I said let’s get in there first and then worry about it – now we’re there so I’m not worried about it either – it’s fantastic!”

But Warrilow vows he will not bankrupt the club, but it’s important that local businesses support their successful local football team.

He said: “We will sit down and look at it logistically.  I’m not expecting us to compete with the top teams because we’ll end up doing what we done last season and having to draw it all in.  We’ve just have to get a realistic budget that the club can sustain and just get on with it.

“We can’t compete with some of the teams in there.  The one thing we won’t do is cause the club problems that’s the one thing we won’t do.  The most important thing is the football club will be here when I’m gone, Steve and Garry (Churcher and Pass) have gone so we’ll get a sensible head on it so hopefully if the town comes in with a few new sponsors, put advertising boards up, the turnstiles are clicking, we need everything now to make us as strong as possible in the Conference South.”

Meanwhile, the club have already confirmed their first pre-season friendly, with Brentford returning to Longmead Stadium on Saturday 16 July.

Brentford, who featured former Tonbridge Angels defender Leon Legge, were held to a goal-less draw by the Kent club last summer.

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

Click on this link for Dave Couldridge's photographs of the big day: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16074688@N03/sets/72157626668332856/

Visit the fans' forum for You Tube video clips of the match and post-match celebrations:  www.tonbridgeafc.co.uk/forum