Danny Crow: 'Harleston Town need to find alternative ways to pick up victories following their promotion'
Harleston Town manager Danny Crow has warned his players that they will need to find different ways to win matches as they prepare to embark on a first ever campaign at Step 5.
Whether it be in the Thurlow Nunn League First Division North or the Fosters Solicitors Anglian Combination Premier Division, Harleston have been in the habit of picking up three points on a regular basis in recent seasons.
However, their historic promotion to the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division will throw up plenty of different challenges and Crow, who was appointed as boss earlier this summer, is eager for his side to face them head on.
“As soon as I took this job you could see the winning mentality that already exists,” said the former Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United forward.
“I know a lot of the players have played at this level and some have played higher as well, but collectively this is a big challenge.
“We’ll need to find different ways to win. No disrespect to the leagues the club has been playing in, but it is going to be harder to win football matches now.
“Sheer talent is not always going to be enough and if a couple of players aren’t performing, we need to find a way for the other nine players to dig it out and get us over the line.
“Of course you want to win every single match and that’s what we’ll be looking to do, but you can’t do it the same way each week at this level.
“We’ve been trying to get that message through to the players this summer and I think they’ve been enjoying it.”
While there is plenty for the squad to learn about life at a higher level, Crow is also well aware that he is not immune from having to adapt.
The 36-year-old enjoyed a long career playing in the Football League, but he accepts things are different at a semi professional standard.
“I’m lucky to have the career I had in the game,” he added. “I dropped into the part-time game towards the end and that helped me to adapt.
“I understand people have commitments. I’ve got lads that work shifts, they have kids and they want to go on holiday. It’s their life and I’m never going to try to stop that.
“I’ve spoken to a lot of managers and it’s the same for them. I’m always learning, it’s pretty full on, but I’m enjoying it. All I ask of the players is that when they’re with us they’re totally committed, they want to learn and they give it everything.”
Harleston open up their 2022/23 season tomorrow with a trip to Brantham Athletic (3pm).
And three points on the opening day would represent the perfect start for Crow, who said: “I’ve played in this league and it’s a tough league – there are no easy games.
“When it comes to the first game, we’ve been working hard in every training session and every friendly building up to that one. We want to hit the ground running and hopefully show people what Harleston are about.”