It’s a huge season for Downham Town as they prepare for Step 4 football for the first time in the club’s history.
Tomorrow, they open their Isthmian League North campaign with a trip to Bowers and Pitsea.
Downham’s first home fixture is towards the end of the month when they host Takeley at the Memorial Field.
West Norfolk sports editor Greg Plummer spoke to manager and co-chairman Dale Sokes and fellow co-chairman James Taylor in a special question-and-answer session.
How difficult has it been to attract new players over the summer?
Stokes said: “Extremely. Not that we were looking to change too much, but I wanted to add three or four to freshen things up and add some competition.
“A combination of finances and location has meant it’s borderline impossible for us to recruit, especially when you’ve got teams at the level below us offering triple what we can to players.
“As a club, we aren’t at the point where we can compete with that without putting ourselves in serious trouble. So it’s just about being sensible and looking for the right opportunities.
How happy are you with your squad going into the new season?
Stokes said: “I’m very happy with the quality that we’ve got in the squad. The two fixtures with Mildenhall in The FA Cup have more than shown that we are good enough to compete.
“It’s the quantity where the issue is. We just need a few more.
“We start the league campaign Saturday and I’ve got 12 available out of 19, as a result of Injuries, suspensions and holidays. I’m hopeful that over the coming weeks, we can add what I’m after.”
Other than George Watts-Sturrock, I think you’ve kept the majority of the squad that helped you win the play-offs last season.
How important was it to keep the core together?
Stokes said: “I’d say it’s a key factor for us going into the season. Keeping the majority of the squad with a winning mentality is really important.
“They have the togetherness and spirit that they showed through the whole of last season and that certainly helped get us over the line in the play-offs.
“They know each other’s games well and trust each other and that is a massive plus for a manager.
Sometimes, wholesale changes can disturb that and have a negative effect.
“Of course, losing a player of the calibre of George is always going to be a blow and we will miss having him around.
“He’d been with us for several years and was an integral part of our success.”
What are your aims for the season, both on the pitch and off it?
Taylor said: “Our number one aim is to stay in Step 4.
“It is going to be a tough ask given the teams and budgets we are up against, but we are confident that the squad can achieve this.
“Off the pitch, we need to find a way to sustain our growth – both on the first team side and in the youth.
“We have U18S in place for next season and another 19 youth teams, so we want to ensure we have facilities for all of them.
“As a first team, we want to show them a pathway they can follow over the coming years.”
How difficult is it going to be against so many bigger clubs and a lot more travelling?
Taylor said: “Both are huge challenges. However, we can’t worry about the size of other clubs and the backing they have.
“We can only focus on who we are and what we have. The travel is going to be an added dimension, but it works both ways.
“No one is going to enjoy the additional travel involved in coming to us and we have to make that an advantage for us in some way. Our home games will be really important.”
How excited are you to be playing at Step 4?
Taylor said: “It is an incredible feeling – we are all very excited. It is an incredible achievement for a club like Downham to have reached Step 4 – given the limited resources we have and the restrictions we have to operate under.
“Now we have got there, we want to do ourselves justice and put ourselves on a wider map. We can’t wait to get started.”
What’s the situation with the ground improvements and how has attracting sponsors been following your promotion?
Taylor said: “We have until the end of March to make some adjustments to the ground, so there is work going on in the background to help with that.
“We are lucky to have some long-standing relationships with local businesses who have supported us on our journey and we are very grateful to them.
“We are looking forward to welcoming new ones as the season gets underway and being in Step 4 certainly helps with that.”
What would you define as a good season?
Taylor said: “Maintaining our position in Step 4 and a cup run of some sort would be great for us.
“The squad have worked hard in pre-season and are raring to go – I am looking forward to seeing how they perform in a higher step.”
What teams are you expecting to be competing at the top end of the table this season?
Stokes said: “I think the obvious one is Maldon & Tiptree. What they’re doing certainly hasn’t gone under the radar, so I fully expect them to be there.
“A front two of Freddy Sears and Gary Hooper at Step 4. They’ve recruited mostly from around Step 2 level, it seems, so that shows what we are up against.
“Aside from that, Felixstowe are always amongst it and Gorleston have gone big as well. It’s going to be interesting.”
