NICK Spooner admits he had a ‘wobble’ after Hyde United’s heartbreaking end to last season.
Now he is on more stable ground, he is determined to make amends by helping them go straight up from the Northern Premier League.
The Tigers’ boss, like his players and fans, could only watch as results on the final day saw them drop out of the play-offs.
And there was nothing they could do as they did not have a game owing to Marske resigning.
The effects of that – as well as other things – led to Spooner questioning whether he should stay.
Now he has, he is determined to avoid more last day heartbreak, with his side playing a slightly different way.
Spooner said: “It was at the end of last season. I just had a little wobble and got to the stage where you analyse yourself and look at, ‘Is it time for a change?’
“But there’s a moment I can pinpoint as the one when I decided to stay. I just had to get over what I had to get over, a silly little thing hit me quite badly.
“Losing our play-off place was really annoying, that might have triggered it. How another club was mis-managed affected Hyde United on the last day of the season.
“That shouldn’t happen. You do all your preparation for the season and think, ‘Last game at home,’ but we can’t use that as an excuse.
“You need a rest, it doesn’t stop. I went on holiday, recharged the batteries and I’m ready to go again.
“And I don’t want what happened last term to happen again. I don’t want two sixth places on my CV!”
The Northern Premier League Premier Division is almost certain to see a battle for promotion.
Macclesfield have taken many of the headlines, but several other sides can stake claims for the top – Hyde being one of them.
And Spooner believes going up has to be the aim, otherwise what’s the point?
He added: “We’ve come a long way since I came here. People are taking about us in terms of play-off or promotion places and that’s pleasing.
“We just need live up to that. It’s pointless playing, pointless the supporters coming, pointless having a team if you’re not ambitious to push on to the next level.
“Hopefully, we’re building something where we may get that opportunity.
“And we’re bringing different people in to maybe effect the final third a bit. We were a bit short there over the last couple of seasons.
“We’re trying to encourage a possession-based game. Since I came to the club, I’ve encouraged the players to get on the ball and play.
“What we’re trying to do better this year is getting the ball back quicker. We’ve a lot more legs in the team this year and that’s how I feel we want to progress.
“We want to be nice on the ball but aggressive off it.”
Changes at Hyde United have seen Brad Roscoe, Callum Spooner and Lewis Alessandra leave, with several new faces coming in.
Over pre-season, they showed their versatility and the man in charge w ants them to show they can get higher up the divisions.
Spooner told The Correspondent: “We played two or three formations in certain pre-season matches and that’s what we wanted.
“It’s a long season with a lot of fixtures and I’m expecting a very tough campaign.
“Going into the last few weeks of last season, the top 10 were fighting for the play-offs. I think that’s what’s going to happen again this year.
“We had big boots of some of the lads who left to fill – Brad, Callum and Lewis.
“But hopefully the lads who’ve stepped in are hungry enough to believe in what we do and push on and improve their careers.”