Title-winning player/boss Ian Dunn insists that the ChromaSport UCL Premier Division should hold no fears for Pinchbeck United next season – on the pitch, at least.
The Knights cruised to the UCL Division One title this year, finishing 11 points clear of runners-up Potton United and ending the campaign on a 28-game winning run.
It was an incredible showing in what was Pinchbeck’s first-ever season in the UCL, but attentions now turn to how they will fare in the promised land of the Premier Division.
Dunn admits that his players have “earned the right” to stay on and have a crack at step five football and believes that they “wouldn’t struggle” at the higher standard.
But he does admit that the club needs help off the field as they continue their rapid rise up the non-league ladder.
“I feel like we’ll be competitive,” said the player/boss, who formerly managed Boston Town in the UCL’s top tier. “We wouldn’t struggle.
“I feel that we’d maybe need some more experience adding to the squad, but the current group have certainly earned the right to come back next season and have a go.
“We have a squad that has some experience at that level and the correct attitude, but we’d have five cup competitions to play in and the games will obviously be harder.
“It’s off the field where we need more help. The higher we rise, the more you need to do away from the pitch – especially on match day.
“We need match day volunteers and sponsorship. We’ve had lots of exposure in the local press and attendances have been good, but we really need more people to help.”
Reflecting on the best season in the club’s history, Dunn feels like things went better than he and number two Allan Ross could ever have imagined.
He added: “I don’t think anyone could have predicted how our season went. I thought we’d be competitive, but to win the title was beyond our wildest expectations.
“People often said we had a big budget – but that’s not true either.
“We just did our homework and took the time to watch our rivals. We learned how to nullify their strengths and how to expose their weaknesses.
“It was no fluke. We became very hard to play against and teams seemed to run out of ideas against us. Very few sides seemed to have a plan B.”
