The Westbury United players will be history makers when they step out on the pitch for their first ever game in the Southern League, away at Willand Rovers on Saturday 13th August, says joint manager, Ricky Hulbert.
Ricky sat down with White Horse News to discuss how the team has prepared new season and says it will be a case of ‘little old Westbury playing with the big boys’ but he has high hopes for the season ahead.
Ricky, alongside fellow joint manager Lewis Porter, has helped push the club to its highest position in its 102-year history when they secured promotion to the Southern League for the first ever time last season.
“For the club our number one aim for the upcoming season is simply to just stay in it and finish as high as we can – it sounds simple really but this is a level we have never played in so it will be a learning experience for us all.
“We’ve now got the task of trying to establish ourselves as a true Southern League club and we want to go toe-to toe with all the big boys. We’ve currently got the lowest wage budget so it’s all about bringing in the right players who are young and hungry, but we’ve also got to balance that with giving the boys who helped push us into the division, the chance to show their worth too.
“Every player we have right now are history makers – each time we take three points and climb the table it will be the highest we’ve ever reached. We often joke about ‘little old Westbury playing with the big boys’ but Lewis and I are immensely proud of what we’ve achieved and so should the players.”
New signings
United have strengthened their squad throughout the summer, signing strikers Martin Johnson and Conner McKay and defender Aaron Cockerill all from Warminster Town, midfielder Charlie Walton from Bradford Town and midfielder Manny Adepitan from Odd Down .
Ricky explained, “Charlie was our number one target for the season and so many clubs have been throwing big money at him it was such a relief to get him signed.
“Aaron is a guy we’ve been after for a while as he’s a left sided centre-half/full back which is a position we needed depth in, so we’re delighted with that. Manny came to us highly recommended, and he’s really impressed us in pre-season in that holding midfielder role – he’s a strong lad.
“We’ve made some great additions to the squad, and we’ve managed to sign up players that we’ve had our eye on for ages now. Playing in the Southern league has made attracting players a lot easier than it was before.
“Preseason for us is less about the results and more about the players getting individually fit. The boys have been great at organising themselves outside of training sessions so credit to them for that. A lot of our players are hungry to prove to other clubs they’ve been at previously that they are good enough for this level and we think they’ll show their true worth in the Southern League.”
Local derbies and calls for young supporters
For the first time in some time, United will have a chance to play in local derbies against Melksham Town and Frome Town. They will play Melksham Town away on Monday 29th August and at home on Monday 2nd January with Frome Town away on Saturday 22nd October and at home on Saturday 25th March.
Ricky said, “These are the games we want to be playing in, we want to be in front of big crowds playing big games. We just need to ensure we get people to come down to Meadow Lane when we play at home and show the other clubs that we mean business.
“I don’t think people realise just how big an achievement it is for this club to play in this league – we would really love for more people to show up and support your local club. We also really want to get more young people involved with supporting the club and for them to realise it’s not only a great day out every fortnight, but it’s also a cheap day out!
“If you look at clubs like Frome Town, they’ve got groups of young lads who all turn up and support the team with the older ultras – that is something we would love to see here.”
• Westbury United will kick-off their Southern League campaign with a game against Willand Rovers away from home on Saturday 13th August at 3pm.
