Haverhill Rovers ‘an exciting place to be’ says boss Ben Cowling

Haverhill Rovers’ goal for the upcoming campaign is promotion.

However, The New Croft outfit’s activities in the last week are those of a side who are not just wanting to move up a division, but those of a club who want to blow their current one out of the water.

Boss Ben Cowling bolstered his squad with three new arrivals this week, all of whom will have raised eyebrows among fellow Thurlow Nunn League First Division North sides.

Proven goalscorer Shaun Avis was first through the door, which sees him reunited with Cowling after the pair previously linked up at Lakenheath – during which time Avis surpassed the 100-goal mark for the Premier Division outfit.

The Rovers manager also welcomed in another of his former players on Sunday, as versatile midfielder Ryan Taylor made the switch from Lakenheath to The New Croft – as many have since Cowling’s arrival. And a hat-trick of stellar incomings was sealed when it was announced that prolific attacker Joe Greenslade-Cross would be returning to Haverhill.

The winger netted 19 times in 20 matches for Rovers last term before departing to Soham Town Rangers in December. But following his five goals in 18 appearances in the Premier Division since the turn of the year, the former Walsham man has re-joined Rovers for the upcoming campaign.

The influx of arrivals does not stop with the playing squad. Tom Walker has joined the management team as a first-team coach from Lakenheath and former Royston Town head of physio Jay Walker has also arrived at The New Croft.

Perhaps an understatement, Cowling said Rovers is a ‘really exciting place to be’ at the moment.

“We want to create the most professional atmosphere as we possibly can. We’ve got an excellent backroom staff, the players shouldn’t want for anything on that front,” he said.

“Rovers find themselves in a very strange situation. You quite often see a first team push ahead, make progress with good players and a good management group, and perhaps the rest of the club can’t necessarily keep up with success that a club can have.

“Rovers are in a complete opposite situation. Nobody would deny the club has massively underperformed for a long period of time, but the infrastructure of the club, the facility we play at, isn’t matched (on the pitch).

“The first team find themselves in a position they don’t want to be in. They deserve to be a Step-6 football club on the pitch because that’s what happened over the course of the past decade.

“But the potential for the first team to fly is there. That’s why the boys came over last year from Step-5 clubs and that probably raised some eyebrows on that front.

“We want to give ourselves every opportunity of having a successful season. If we don’t, then it will be down to us on the pitch.”

Striker Avis not only arrives with the role of being Rovers’ talisman this season, but he has also been given the captain’s armband for the upcoming campaign. Should he feature, he is likely to lead Cowling’s side out for their first pre-season match home to Ely City on Tuesday (7.45pm).

“Shaun was our primary target for that centre-forward position and we’re glad to have him on board,” said the Rovers boss.

“We want to set the team up to be attacking, to score goals, to create chances and now we’ve got someone to go and finish them off.”

Rovers returned to training on June 13 with a full squad, and Cowling believes ‘it would take a lot for people to move on’ from The New Croft.