Gers boss Langford prepares for big month in Kintbury’s pursuit of promotion from Step 7
Kintbury Rangers’ manager Danny Langford thinks next month will be crucial as he bids to lead his side to the Wiltshire Senior League Premier Division title.
The Gers are currently occupying top spot and on a run of 10 games unbeaten but would drop to third if both Amesbury Town and Pewsey Vale win both of their games in hand.
And with Langford’s side set to take on Royal Wootton Bassett, Amesbury and Kingsdown – three sides in top seven – in February, the boss feels the coming weeks could prove decisive.
“I’ve been in football at this level, managing and playing, for some time and this is probably the best and most competitive league at Step 7 that I’ve ever been involved in,” he said.
“I’ll be the first to hold my hands up and say we haven’t got it all right. It’s been a bit frustrating because we beat the likes of Larkhall, Pewsey and Amesbury but we’ve dropped points when we shouldn’t have. I think at times we’ve been a little bit complacent, just turning up and thinking we can win games.
“In this league, there are no easy games; anyone’s capable of beating anyone.
“Nothing’s won in January and we’ve got a lot of big games coming up – next month is massive for us. It’s all to play for and I think it’s going to be a fantastic end to the season. It’s nice to be in and around it.
“We go to Amesbury and, for me, that could be a title decider. If we go there and get beat, it’ll be difficult; if we win, then we’re right in amongst it and in a good position.”
Theo Penicott Bowen returned from an anterior cruciate ligament injury in Kintbury’s last game, a comfortable 4-0 win over mid-table Blunsdon, but the Gers have been without a number of key players of late. The all-action Will Frank was ruled out with a broken ankle in October while skipper Carl Jenner suffered a broken toe last month. Kye Williams is still awaiting the results of a scan on his knee.
Langford’s had to use his contacts to plug gaps whenever they appear, with Gareth Thomas, Kai Stubbs-Alleyne, Owain Wheeler and Will Edwards all coming in to help out.
Langford said: “The last six or seven weeks have been really tough.
“We’ve lost key players in key areas. I’ve been without four of five of the lads that have been with me from the start.
“It’s taken its toll and it’s been difficult but we’re getting through it.”
Talented attacker George Armstrong, who was one of a number of players to follow Langford from Newbury over the summer, has been Kintbury’s only ever-present this term.
The talismanic Armstrong, who has blasted 25 goals in just 18 games, has been central to a prolific Gers attack; Langford’s side have scored 77 goals this season, 15 more than the second highest scorers.
Attacking midfielder Jake Allan, another former Newbury man, added to his tally in last Saturday’s win over Blunsdon while Toby Thorp, who impressed for parent club Hungerford Town in pre-season, has come in to bolster Langford’s attacking options.
“George Armstrong is George Armstrong, that’s why I went out so hard to get him in the summer,” Langford said.
“He’s far too good to be playing at this level but he enjoys it, he’s with his mates and we look after him. He’ll probably end up on 40 goals at this rate.
“Off the pitch, he’s a lovely, lovely lad and he never misses a game. He’s a great lad and he’s a great player and that’s why he was my main priority in the summer.
“Toby (Thorp) has come in from Hungerford and, to be honest, has been a bit hit-and-miss.
“He scored a hat-trick in his first game and scored last week. He won’t mind me saying he’s a big confidence player; he’s got bags of talent and potential and when he’s got his head up and he’s smiling, he’s fantastic. That’s why he’s with us – Robbo (Danny Robinson, Hungerford manager) trusts us to get the best out of him.”
Teenage midfielder Ben Luckett has enjoyed a breakthrough season in men’s football. The 18-year-old has impressed in the engine room for Kintbury and scored for Southern Premier League side Hungerford Town after coming off the bench against Binfield in a Berks and Bucks Cup game.
And Langford, who has never been shy in giving opportunities to young players, feels the box-to-box midfielder could have a bright future in the game.
He said: “He (Luckett) is probably the best player I’ve seen at his age since I’ve been involved in non-league football.
“He’s got some serious talent. His attitude is very, very good and that’s a bit unusual for kids these days if I’m honest. He just gets on with things.
“He’s going to go on and play a very good level of non-league football, if not higher. He’s got everything you need and he’s got his head screwed on.
“He’s only just turned 18 and he runs the show for us pretty much every week. Big clubs will come calling and we will support him with that; I want to see the lads progress and that’s what it’s all about.”
Kintbury host Ludgershall Sports in the quarter-finals of the Fountain Trophies Senior Cup this weekend.
While Langford had initially hoped to use the competition to hand opportunities to youth team players, the string of recent injuries and a chance to reach the last four means the Gers boss is set to field a full strength side on Saturday.
“I’ll be honest, it was going to be a cup where I was going to give a lot of the under-18s an experience of men’s football,” he said.
“When we played Trowbridge in the last round we hadn’t played for a couple of weeks so we wanted to go full strength to get minutes into the legs of the first team.
“Now we’ve got to the quarter-final, it’s an opportunity to have a big day out. That’s what we give up our time for, so we’ll be full strength with what we’ve got. We’ve got Carl Jenner back in contention. We’ll be going all out.”
Off the pitch, Kintbury are working hard to upgrade and renovate their ground ahead of a potential promotion to Step 6.
And Langford has big ambitions of his own, with the up-and-coming manager – full of drive, determination, ideas and ambition – hoping to ascend the footballing pyramid over the coming years.
He said: “I took the job based on the understanding we’d apply for promotion, and that’s what we’ve done.
“It’s going to be tough. We’re going to potentially have to win the league to go up, depending on how it’s structured. We have to have the mindset to win the title.
“The work on the ground is ongoing. We’ve got fencing going up. The biggest cost is going to be the floodlights; they’re going to be in the region of £24,000.
“It’s a great club with a lot of good people working really hard. I’ve got ambitions to go and manage at a higher level and I feel as though I’ve earned my stripes at Step 7. I want to progress and move forward and that’s the club’s aim too.”
