Fernandes feeling the love after agreeing to remain at Hungerford Town
Talented winger Michael Fernandes has re-signed for Hungerford Town.
The 23-year-old impressed in a brief spell at the back end of last season, scoring in the 3-0 win over Taunton Town in April.
Now, Fernandes says he’s desperate to help the Crusaders return to the National League South, admitting his time at the club so far has helped him rediscover his love for football.
“The decision to sign spoke for itself,” he said.
“We were so disappointed to get relegated.
“I know I only came at the end of the season, but I was hurting because the club means so much to me.
“The only way I felt I could put things right was to commit to the club and see if I can help them get back to where they belong.”
Fernandes made something of a slow start to his Crusaders career but soon found his feet and was arguably Hungerford’s best player in the last six weeks of the season.
Capable of beating defenders, providing excellent end product and scoring goals, Fernandes feels his form at Hungerford was down to his happiness at his surroundings, forming an instant connection with the club and its fans.
He said: “Last season was very up-and-down for me personally.
“When I went to Hungerford, it was a breath of fresh air.
“The first two weeks, it took a while to get back to loving the game to be honest.
“You fall in love with the game and fall out of love with it so quickly.
“Hungerford made me find my love for the game.”
Boss Danny Robinson looks to have made some shrewd summer signings so far, bringing in the likes of experienced goalkeeper Ryan Clarke, proven goalscorers Conor McDonagh and David Bremang and versatile defender Louie Paget, while also managing to retain the services of the impressive Matt Berry-Hargreaves and tough tackling George Smith.
And Fernandes, who can add flair to a solid spine, feels the Crusaders have the makings of a side that can challenge for an immediate return to the National League South.
“That’s our number one aim,” he said.
“There’s no way as a team who have just been relegated we can afford to be happy with staying in the league below.
“Having spoken to Robbo, I know he wants to go straight back up.
“The new signings that I know and the new signings that I don’t, everyone’s going to want the same goal and that’s to get promoted.”
Fernandes was part of the Farnborough side that won promotion from the Southern Premier League South via the play-offs in the 2021/22 season and wants to use his experience to help the rest of the squad repeat the feat.
He said: “When you talk about experience, everyone thinks that comes with age, but really in football it comes with being out on the pitch.
“It’s a league I think we can go and win.
“It really does come down to the bunch of players we’ll have throughout the season.
“If we can keep our best players in January, stay relatively injury-free and be together as a team, then it’s very, very doable.”
The wideman signed a professional deal with League 2 side Colchester United back in 2019 and while he still has ambitions to play at the highest level possible, is fully focused on his commitment to the Crusaders.
“I think another promotion on my C.V. wouldn’t be too bad, that wouldn’t look crazy,” he said.
“It’s something I want to achieve, then I’ll see where I’m at.
“If I can help Hungerford go up, then that’ll mean I’m playing with them at a higher level.
“That’s all I’m thinking about, pushing on with Hungerford.”
Fernandes is not alone in admitting there are some aspects of pre-season he’s not looking forward to but says he’s focused on getting fit and hitting the ground running when the new season begins in August.
In fact, he’s been working hard since returning from his holiday last week.
He said: “I’ve started training at home.
“I want to be in the best possible shape to make a great start next season.”
