Needham Market manager Tom Rothery determined to bounce back from National League North relegation

Needham Market manager Tom Rothery has spoken of his determination to ‘right the wrongs of this season’.

The relegated Marketmen signed off from life in the National League North last weekend with a 3-1 defeat at Darlington.

It rounded off a tough campaign for Needham, who found themselves up against clubs with far superior budgets following their historic promotion from the Southern League Central Premier Division 12 months ago.

But ahead of their impending return to Step 3 football, Rothery will leave no stone unturned in his bid to get the team back to winning ways on a regular basis.

“It’s been a really tough season. It took us too long to adapt to the level and ultimately we didn’t quite have enough quality,” he said.

“There’s been no lack of effort from anyone – both on and off the pitch. We’ve had everything we wanted and needed and the players have given me absolutely everything, but we’ve just not been good enough in both penalty boxes.

“I’ve never been relegated as a player or manager, so my experience of it is limited.

“But I’m quite a stubborn and driven character so I’m determined to put right the wrongs of this season.

“We might have gone down but overall I’d say there is still a pretty positive feeling around the club.”

In terms of his recruitment plans this summer, Rothery is expecting to retain many of the current squad, meaning that he will not need to make wholesale alterations.

He added: “Around 13 or 14 of the lads have committed to next season after some early conversations so that’s a good starting point.

“It’s my job to make sure that the players who come in are the right ones.

“There will obviously be lots of competition for players, that’s just the way it is each summer.

“But we’ll have our targets and hopefully we can freshen things up a little bit.”