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Dave Walters, Hastings United Football Club chairman.

“I want to win the league” – chairman Dave Walters

Hastings United’s season came to a sad end – finishing bottom of the Ryman Premier League and being relegated into the Ryman League South. United had a remarkable FA Cup run that was described as ‘phenomenal’ by club chairman Dave Walters. It seemed that United saved their form for the cup runs, reaching the third round of the FA Cup and getting to the semi-final and quarter-final of the Sussex Senior Cup and the Ryman League Cup respectively. After United’s final match win against Kingstonian on Saturday, HOT’s Liam Willis interviewed club chairman Dave Walters, manager Sean Ray and supporters’ Player of the Season, Danny Ellis.

Mr Walters exclusively told HOT at the interview: “The FA Cup run was bitter-sweet and I felt overriding emotion, pride and enjoyment but we can’t let the relegation ruin the FA Cup run. I am frustrated that we’ve been relegated and we have to sort out the mistakes.

“People have been scrutinising the managerial status of Sean Ray, but we have to keep faith and keep communicating with the manager, and time will tell [if that was right]. But it is frustrating how we’ve been relegated – how did our magnificent form in the cup competitions descend to this?”

HOT’s Liam Willis asked about the money from the FA Cup, and Mr Walters told us, “A lot of the FA Cup money went on players on loan and a lot of these players have had interest from league clubs, people like Daniel East, Liam O’Brien, Freddie Warren, Elvis Hammond and Alassane N’Diaye. But we’ve been relegated because we can’t finish to save our lives. Money dictates everything in football and I hate it. We need a Lampard, a midfielder that can score goals and we need strikers. Sean Ray has scored more goals than the entire midfield this season and he’s a centre back – we need a goal-scoring midfielder. I’d love to have Liam O’Brien and Bradley Goldberg back in the squad next season but stretching the budget is a gamble.”

The  question of admission prices for adults and concessions was also raised with Mr Walters, on which he commented: “The FA Cup money is running out and lowering the admission prices to get more people through the gate won’t help the football club in the long run. If we get a winning team, the crowd numbers will rise and they will stay, and if we win the league, everyone will be happy no matter how much they pay. I want to win the league. We will win it.”

Sean Ray, Hastings United Football Club player/manager.

Sean Ray has also had a topsy-turvy season but keeps his job as player/manager into the 2013/2014 season. HOT’s Liam Willis asked Mr Ray what he made of the season, to which Ray answered: “There’s been a lot of highs this season and a lot of lows which has resulted in a lot of learning – both on and off the pitch. I’ve learnt a lot about my own character on and off the pitch and I’ve learnt a lot about my players’ characters, again, on and off the pitch. It’s not just their characters I’ve learnt about, it’s their ability, both mental and physical.”

Regarding Ray’s job as manager of the club, he stated: “I believe that sometimes a mix-up is necessary and I admit that I’ve made mistakes this season. But I’ve learnt from those mistakes and I will be able to make changes accordingly to stop these mistakes from happening. Sometimes a club has to take a step back to work on things and improve and I’m confident that we can improve going into next season. It’s not what I wanted for the players, fans, the town or the club, and sadly it’s happened. But sometimes you have to take a step back to rebuild and improve.”

Danny Ellis received the supporters’ player of the season award, closely followed by Jamie Crellin and then Elliot Cox – so close in fact that I believe there were only three votes separating Ellis and Crellin. Danny Ellis described winning the Player of the Season award as an ‘honour’. He told HOT, “I’m over the moon, I really didn’t see it coming. But it’s been a long and hard season and now all the boys are so tired and are welcoming a well-deserved break. I’ve scored a few good goals this season, but if we beat Bognor in the cup or got something out of Hendon in the league, it could’ve been totally different. But it’s an honour to receive the Player of the Season award, thank you.”

Liam Willis would once again like to thank everyone for their tremendous support both home and away this season. It’s been a very different season with the highs and the lows. He looks forward to writing about the matches in the Ryman League South but separating then and now, we have a break and will then have some pre-season friendlies to look forward to. Thanks again for your support – see you next season!

 

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Posted 22:42 Tuesday, Apr 30, 2013 In: Sport

2 Comments

  1. Pat McCrossan

    Another interesting article. Ryman south is a tough league to get out of but I have full confidence that we can do it at first go!

    Comment by Pat McCrossan — Wednesday, May 1, 2013 @ 16:35

  2. Sue Beattie

    A very interesting report. Good to hear from Chairman, manager & player. I for one am looking forward to next season.
    Well written Liam.

    Comment by Sue Beattie — Wednesday, May 1, 2013 @ 16:09

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