IT feels like only yesterday since Isaac Buckley-Ricketts sent Cantilever Park into delirium in May’s dramatic play-off final but now, Warrington Town are ready to do it all again.
Because of what happened 95 short days ago, however, this will be a season like no other.
Regardless of what happens over the next eight months or so, Town will break new ground for football in our little corner of the world simply by competing in the National League North.
For seven years, this is the level they have been striving to reach only for their various bids to end in heartbreak. Until now.
They will now seek to establish themselves at a level at which the vast majority of their rivals have operated for many a year, with others having almost exclusively plied their trade in divisions much, much higher.
Of course, they will enjoy the ride but make no mistake, they are not here just to do that.
Everyone involved in the club from chairman Toby Macormac through to manager Mark Beesley and his players and all of those in between see this as the next step in realising the potential they believe this club has.
Their aim is to not only survive but to thrive at this new level and in theory, they have assembled the tools to do so.
In keeping the overwhelming majority of the promotion-winning squad together, the togetherness and cohesion that allowed them to storm to success remains in place.
The returns of Dan Atherton and Matty Grivosti – two players with full knowledge of the dressing room and those within it – add depth while Peter Clarke’s signing adds to an already enviable pool of experience.
> An exclusive interview with Peter Clarke following his move to Warrington Town
Clarke and his 900 professional appearances when combined with the likes of Jay Harris, Tom Hannigan and others brings the rock-solid stability to allow younger talent further up the pitch to shine.
While Connor Woods has played in the National League North with Southport, the level will be completely new to the likes of Matty McDonald and Luke Duffy.
The success of that attacking trio will form a large part of how well the club does, but they have earned the right to play with the kind of youthful exuberance and fearlessness they show whenever they pull on a yellow shirt.
How the pre-season knee injury suffered by club captain Josh Amis will affect things in attack remains to be seen – the suspension attached to his play-off final red card would have ruled him out of the first four games regardless, but his absence will stretch several weeks beyond that.
Jordan Buckley – himself a prodigious talent if he can stay fit – looks likely to deputise while Woods could also move into a more central role, bringing Grivosti and play-off hero Buckley-Ricketts into play.
All of that will be worked out in time but if the partnerships and connections that inspired last season’s glory can be rekindled, Town will be on the right track.
Despite all of this, however, it would be naïve to think this season will be plain sailing.
Establishing themselves at this level is the long-term ambition, but it could involve some short-term pain.
This club and its fans have become used to winning most weeks. Bonds and patience will be tested if and when they go through the kind of difficult spells that any side adapting to a new level tends to go through.
The squad is small – partly by design – and scope for reinforcements is limited given resources have been diverted into making sure Cantilever Park is passed fit to continue hosting Step Two football come next March, when the ground will be given its final grading.
So while the ride may well be bumpy and perilous at times, it is one everyone associated with Warrington Town Football Club will relish.
Strap yourselves in, folks…
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