Harleston Town manager Matt Halliday recruits four new players in bid to improve upon 2024/25 season

Harleston Town manager Matt Halliday is hopeful that a combination of some fresh additions and retained players with a point to prove will help to right the disappointment of last term.

By Halliday’s own admission, Town’s overall performance across the 2024/25 campaign was ‘unacceptable’.

They finished 13th in the Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division – the club’s lowest position since being promoted to Step 5 ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

Halliday said: “What happens when you have a season that doesn’t go too well, players are frustrated and disappointed and many tend to move on for a fresh start.

“We know last season was unacceptable for our club, but what’s been pleasing is how many of the lads were keen to stay for next season.

“We’ve made some changes in terms of a couple of players but the majority have stayed because they want to put it right.”

And so far the returning players have been joined by four new faces.

The combination of goalkeeper Ollie Sutton and defender Tom Huckerby will provide some experience, while there is much excitement surrounding the potential of Archie Gilmore and Alfie Bell, both of whom have arrived from Sheringham.

On the addition of former Wroxham duo Sutton and Huckerby, Halliday said: “The quality of those two is not in question – we all know how good they are and the levels they’ve played at.

“But what they’ll also do is drive up the standards and make things a bit more professional, which I felt we maybe lacked a little bit of last season.

“We’ve already started pre-season training and you can see the impact that they’re going to have.”

Meanwhile, the midfield duo of Gilmore and Bell were both part of Sheringham’s successful Under-18s side that won the Thurlow Nunn Youth League North Division.

The pair were also regulars in Sheringham’s senior side that endured a tough season in the Premier Division, with Bell scoring five times from 38 appearances and Gilmore netting two goals in 31 outings.

“Towards the end of last season we utilised our reserves and the young lads that came in did well and injected a little bit of energy into the team,” said Halliday.

“I spoke with the chairman after the season had finished and we both said that’s what we wanted to bring in – some younger players with quality.

“We played against Archie and Alfie twice last season and they both stood out

“Their quality shone through and so did their work rate.

“They were two players we’d been keeping tabs on since then and after speaking to some other people about them, we’re delighted they’ve agreed to join us.”