Chambers: We only have visions for the future

PATRICK Chambers has admitted that he only wants to ‘look forward’ after recently becoming the new chairman of Hungerford Town.

Chambers, alongside vice-chairman Carl Reader, has only been in the job a matter of weeks and is already looking ahead to the future.

The pair were speaking about the current situation of Hungerford at an open meeting at Bulpit Lane last week.

“At this moment in time, our work is about plugging the gap that was there when we lost our benefactor,” said Chambers. “We are what we are, we’re small but mighty and we have done an incredible job to stay where we are.

“We only have visions for the future and we want to make sure that we only look forward.”

It was also announced that manager Ian Herring has agreed a contract renewal with the club and is set to remain in charge next season.

“It’s a massive plus for us because he did a great job in very difficult circumstances and I have already sat down with Ian to discuss the financial side of things.”

The Crusaders brought in a number of players on-loan last season, which proved a success as they avoided relegation from the National League South in dramatic fashion.

And Chambers believes Herring played a key role in making that happen.

“We all saw the goal young Noah scored against East Thurrock.

“The lads that came from Bristol Rovers and Birmingham City made a big difference and a lot of that was down to Ian and the way he interacted with those clubs.

“The more we can do to show that we’re giving players an opportunity by putting them in the right conditions will make a big difference.”

Chambers revealed the club are looking to launch a ‘player-angels fund’ which helps develop players within the squad.

“It will be used to improve their performance,” he said. “We’re also looking at bringing in a conditional coach as well as getting the GPS vests and involving a data analyst so we can check how the players are performing.

“That’s what you need to do if you want to attract the right type of player,” he added.

One idea to increase attendances has been to interact with grassroots football as the club attempt to bring more people through the turnstiles each week.

Last month, Danilo Orsi-Dadomo and Marvel Ekpiteta attended a number of schools in Hungerford to take charge of training sessions.

“That was arranged by the players themselves and it went down very well,” said Reader. “Ian has also agreed that one player per-week will take part in community engagement.

“We’re going to continue to reach out to the local schools, not just Hungerford because it had a big impact on me when I was a child.”