Striker Jamie McGrath reflects on winning the double, and finishing as the club's league top scorer.
JMcG: Couldn’t have gone much better to be fair! A league and cup double, a good run in the FA
cup - probably better than any of us could’ve imagined at the start of the year!
DK: Last season the aim was to have a better league campaign, so you must be pleased to
have achieved it - in some style?
JMcG: Yeah absolutely, I think we all mentioned it enough times at the end of last season. The
league was the main aim, but yeah we were probably thinking more in terms of a top half,
maybe play-offs finish - so like you say we achieved our goal and some!
DK: How do you reflect on the season from a personal perspective?
JMcG: Delighted with how it went to be honest, got off to a good start, picked up a frustrating injury
early on in the season, but then pretty much from the start of this calendar year seemed to hit a bit of form and then never looked back!
DK: What was your favourite goal that you scored this season?
JMcG: I’d say the 3rd goal v Royston. The 2nd goal that day was a bit of relief but the 3rd one was
just pure joy, especially seeing the whole bench/team sprinting down the touchline to
celebrate us securing the league! Also a notable mention to the little backheel flick at Leamington, enjoyed that one too (and the importance of it).
DK: What was your favourite goal that one of your teammates scored this season?
JMcG: Oo good question there’s been a few. I’d probably say Ingers 40 yard strike at home to
Barwell. We were very thin on the ground that day, coming off the back of a couple of draws I think, so it just settled a few nerves, alongside (probably) being goal of the season!
DK: Do any other moments stand out to you, from the season, and why?
JMcG: A couple of last minute winners from Dan, Halesowen away and then Berkhamsted as well
having found ourselves 2-1 down with 5 to play. They were both massive moments. Telford at home was another great performance and key result (as was the away game I’m sure but I wasn’t there that day).
DK: Has it sunk in yet, doing the double?
JMcG: Haha just about by now I’d say yeah, we’ve lifted the trophies, had all our celebrations - so
been plenty of time to reflect on the season and be proud of what we achieved!
DK: It must be the icing on the cake being our top scorer in the league this season?
JMcG: Yeah it’s obviously very nice, especially as I didn’t score as many as I’d have liked to last
season. But thankfully Kev and Tom stuck by me, saw that the potential was there and hopefully I was able to repay that faith to a certain extent this season!! But the real reason we were so much better as an attacking unit this year is because we all chipped in. Seth had a great season in front of goal, Ingers did what he’s done for years, Tev added goals from midfield, Dan from the back, and everyone else chipped in along the way!
DK: Can you pick a player of season (this will be posted after presentation night)?
JMcG: It was genuinely such a tough decision, could’ve given it to 11 or 12 players I think. But I
went for Tommy Smith, came in this year and did an incredible job. Barely ever saw him get beat defensively and added some real balance and quality going forward on the left hand side too. But really could’ve been anyone!
DK: It must make it more special having achieved it as a really close knit squad?
JMcG: Yeah I feel like we kept a pretty core unit from last year, where despite the tough season we all got on really well, and then had an amazing trip to Barcelona as a squad at the end of the season. Then the boys that came in really added to the group and I feel like this just all contributed to the togetherness we showed on the pitch at times this year.
DK: When did you start to really believe that we were going to win the league?
JMcG: When Nuneaton got kicked from the league it left us in a really strong position, and at that point I though ‘oo we’ve got a chance here’. But in terms of when I actually thought we were gonna do it it was probably Hitchin away. I think we’d just lost 3-0 to Bromsgrove, and with some tough fixtures to finish the season off there was potential for a little wobble. So that 2-0 away win for me was massive, and I was like yeah okay we’ve got this now I reckon.
DK: What emotions come to mind when reflecting on winning the league?
JMcG: Pride, joy, relief!!
DK: How much did this season surpass your expectations?
JMcG: Massively, I thought we were a good enough team to challenge for the playoffs, but from my
short time here I knew how hard this league was. There is never ever an easy game, and we were up against some massive clubs with huge budgets so to actually go on and win it was just incredible. Good FA cup run and winning the Premier Cup were probably more in line with what we expected of ourselves but they are both still incredible achievements in their own right so to complete and surpass all of those objectives just makes it a ridiculously good season overall.
DK: Another incredible FA Cup run, albeit falling just short of the first round must top off the
season?
JMcG: Yeah feels like a lifetime ago to be honest, but it was another excellent run, going to York was another great experience. We more than matched them over the 2 legs so we were a bit unlucky not to make the 1st round again! But yeah it contributed to a great season for sure.
DK: What are your aims and targets for next season?
JMcG: Probably pretty similar from a personal perspective to this season to be honest. Try and play regularly, contribute with goals and assists and enjoy my football. From a team's perspective it’ll probably be a case of looking to consolidate ourselves at Step 2, and go on some more famous cup runs!
DK: How will you prepare for next season?
JMcG: It’s gonna be a big step up next year, so work hard in the gym, get fitter, get stronger - and then
look forward to pre-season!
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