In his first chat before the NEW upcoming 2021/22 after season a year in which has put a stop too all football activities we put a number of questions to our Manager Brian Coleman who was honest and forthright with his answers. Many thanks Beef.

How was planning been during the pandemic?

Planning has been tough and very different but we boxed smart keeping safe and taking advise from the government and following the FAI Protocal guidelines. Training tho at the start has been a lot different to what we are used to with the social distancing aspect but all in all the numbers have been great!

This season ahead could be a stop start or like last season 2020/21 be a total write off we just don't know yet, the season before that our last campaign had been very frustrating!!!

On that last season (2019/20) when taking the job we were on a role, we had a great mixture of youth and experienced Player's which gelled very well and we where Top of the Table firing on all cylinders with three quarters of the Campaign completed, so with only a couple of games to go everything then changed. Covid19 hit the world. Our League the Athletic Union League (AUL) decided to end the Campaign and use the points per game (PPG) to conclude the 2019/20 season. We ended up finishing second which was a very hard pill to swallow due to playing more games. Our view was they should of done what other League's did and waited then resume.

But the lads overall their commitment levels all season and what they offered us as a Club and me as the Manager was special I couldn't of asked more.

After getting our Squad together for the then 2020/21 season preseason which we started in June we like all Clubs had lost some Players but again had taken in some brilliant ones, I made up a training regime along with Stephen Kennedy my Assistant so that our Squad knows each and every training session they will be pushed to their limits, learning on the job as they say and asked to incorporate our philosophy of combat into their game come match day. It's been extremely enjoyable so far. Attitudes where spot on. We finished our preseason programme which included playing against some brilliant teams Valley Park FC and Tallaght Town FC to name a few.

Had you signed any players? Positions and Previous clubs?

In terms of signing Players, as stated previously, it was a rebuilding job at the Club. One of the main goals was to get a Squad together that had a good number of talented players involved and all at a good age, so adding them with our experienced Players will add balance overall.

We have brought in lads from the likes of Newlands/Castle Celtic FC and Cherryfield United FC they had shown already their worth in our training sessions as well as preseason games, it's about tapping into our Player's minds to let them know each position is there to be won. How they react to our coaching sessions the small details and goals we set them is something we are always looking out for.

Has the team secured any sponsorship?

The Club has a lot of excellent sponsors and we are very grateful for their contuined support in these hard and unusual times. Our Chairperson Sharlene contuines to work tirelessly to attract interested parties to come on board.

She is in talks with a number of businesses at the moment about securing more sponsorships for the Club as they are so important to the upkeep of any successful team.

It's been a fantastic effort from all individual sponsors, who will all get shoutouts weekly from our Social Media Team and be invited to any events we hold as a Club.

Potential Friendly Games?

As you can imagine it’s a strange time for all Clubs not just ours at the moment, with now only knowing that in terms of returning to the new season which is set for this September, so yes we will of course have some good games lined up, it'll be great to get some game time into our Player's legs. It's money in the bank.

It's all about opinions on how things should be run but myself and my Management Team have been ruthless when it comes to being brutally honest with the lads about our ambitions this season coming especially with a seasons break. The lads should be hungry and ready to get to it.

I reckon Clubs should keep an eye out for us, we hopefully potentially could be a real surprise to everyone when we are back doing what we enjoy most.

We aren’t here just to make up the numbers in the League we are here to compete and win.

Mr. Brian Coleman
Manager
Kingswood Castle FC
#thecastle⚫⚪⚽️