Matt Lovatt hunting more success

Manager Matt Lovatt admits the Hunters will be the hunted when they kick-off their West Midlands League Division One campaign following another hugely successful campaign.

After clinching the Division Two title last year, Hunters maintained their impressive progress with a fourth-placed finish in the level above and then added some more silverware to their collection by beating league champions Worcester Raiders in the League Cup final.

The success means there is no danger of Lovatt’s men slipping under the radar anymore.

“As much as I’d like to keep the underdog tag, I don’t think that’s going to be the case next season,” said Lovatt. “We will have a bit of a target on our backs now and that’s a different sort of challenge and one that the players have to get used to.

“I’m sure a few other sides wrote us off before the start of this season but we didn’t mind the underdog tag.

“People at the club who know the players felt we were a bit of a dark horse.

“And that proved to be the case as we finished fourth and won the League Cup.

“We had a tough pre-season and I deliberately picked games against some sides from higher levels.

“It was tough in terms of results but I don’t think you learn anything about your side from beating teams easily.

“We had to work hard against those sides and I just felt that we when we got back to our own level we would be a bit sharper.”

Hunters have thrived under the stewardship of Lovatt and his backroom staff of assistant manager Andy Thomas, first-team coach Jay Coyne and goalkeeping coach Shaun Devey.

And now he has designs on adding another chapter to their growing success story.

A sluggish start to the season just gone left them playing catch-up, but the aim is to be up there challenging from the off when action kicks off in August.

“We didn’t have the best of starts and that probably cost us the chance of promotion,” said Lovatt.

“Worcester Raiders won the league, but we drew with them twice and beat them in the cup final.

“Everything needs to be ship shape and the mistakes lessoned next season, but there is no doubt about it, we have to be aiming for promotion.”

It’s all a far cry from when Lovatt joined the club and he is quick to praise the backing he has received from the club and his backroom staff.

“I think the team were second from bottom of Division Two when we took over,” he said.

“First training session was at the Arboretum in Walsall, nine lads turned up wearing Man United and Liverpool shirts.

“We had no goals so it really was jumpers for goalposts.

“But the club has come a long way since then.

“We finished seventh in Division Two in our first season and lost to title winners Telford Juniors in semi-final of divisional cup.

“We struggled to recruit a keeper all season and I think that cost us a few places.

“Second season, we won the league comfortably and we built on that last season.

“The club have backed me and they deserve great credit for that.

“Our players are well looked after with training kit provided and coach trips to away games.

“And my backroom staff have brilliant. I couldn’t have done this without them.

“They have all worked really hard to help the club achieve success and they deserve plenty of plaudits.

“We are only going one way now.”