Having recently signed a new deal with the club, I caught up with striker Jamie McGrath to get his thoughts on his first season playing step 3 football.
DK: How do you feel the season has gone from both a personal and team view point?
JMcG: Probably a bit of a mixed bag for both! On a personal note it was great to break through into the squad after a positive pre-season, start plenty of games and contribute with some good performances! Was a shame however that my season was cut short with injury and would’ve liked to have scored a few more goals of course as it was an area where we struggled as a team From the teams perspective I’m probably just repeating what others have said but we were all very disappointed with the league campaign, however the FA Cup run was incredible, and winning the Premier Cup as well means the season can probably go down as a success!
DK: How did you find your first season at step 3 and scoring some good goals for the club?
JMcG: I enjoyed it a lot, felt like I adapted pretty well to playing at a much higher level and yeah as you say there were a few nice finishes in there which can hopefully be a springboard for next season!
DK: What was it like being involved in the FA Cup run?
JMcG: It was unbelievable to be fair, feels like so long ago now but I think it’s something we can all reflect on and be very proud of. For me to have never even played in the competition, getting to the 1st round proper was an incredible experience, and it just gives you that hunger to try and get there again.
DK: How do you reflect on the league season overall?
JMcG: It was a strange one, we started really strongly, and the early indications were that we were going to be in and around the playoffs. But the FA cup run meant we had quite a few games in hand and were just never able to take advantage of these. We then slipped down the table and probably never thought we were gonna be in a relegation battle until it got to a point where we actually were. Thankfully though the boys were able to pick up some big wins at the end of the season to make sure we were safe.
DK: What are your 3 standout moments from this season?
JMcG: Debut away at Rushden and Diamonds first game of the season, Scoring my first goal for the club at home to St Ives and Beating Maidstone at home to get through to the 1st round proper.
DK: Congrats on also signing a new deal with the club, can you put into words how pleased you are to be staying with the club?
JMcG: Thankyou, yeah I’m very pleased - as I said it was a bit of a mixed season for me but everyone from the management team to the players to the fans have been brilliant so when I was offered a new deal it was a bit of a no brainer to be honest.
DK: What targets do you have for next season?
JMcG: I don’t tend to set myself personal targets, I just aim to help the team as much as I can - which as an attacking player will obviously involve contributing with goals and assists! From the team’s perspective I think we’re all very focused on having a much better league campaign, as we have shown we’re more than capable of competing with the teams at the top of the table - we’ve just got to find that consistency week in week out.
DK: Going back to the FA Cup run, do you think it made it more special that your first season of playing in the competition ended with our record run and away to a League One team?
JMcG: Yeah without a doubt, for some reason I just always believed we were gonna make the first round, and maybe took the whole thing a bit for granted when you realise it was the first time the club has ever got there - which shows how difficult it actually is to achieve. And yeah of course going away to a League One team was incredibly special, we got to feel like professional footballers for an afternoon haha. But as I said earlier, it just gives you that hunger and desire to go and do it again, because it was such an unreal experience.
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