YATE Town manager Paul Britton has opened up on his first season as a Southern League manager and admitted there were times when the club revamp could have collapsed.

The Bluebells are safe in the Division One South and West of the league after a late run from the start of March took them away from the relegation zone.

Yate won six of their last ten league matches, drawing two and losing two after a couple of runs of defeats and draws that saw them get just one point in 18 during August and go winless for just short of three months during the winter.

But it was a transformation year for Yate with a number of senior players leaving last summer and now Britton and the club’s board of directors have backed the young squad to continue the momentum.

Yate finished their campaign with another win, this time 2-1 away at Bridgwater Town which saw prolific goal-getting Jack Ball score for the fifth time in six matches during April.

And just days after the last game of the season, the club have announced a first friendly of the summer when they will playing at home to League One outfit Bristol Rovers on Saturday July 8.

Britton said he has ‘loved every minute’ of his first season at this level. He said: “It’s been a great experience and it is what I am all about which is creating a team.”

But, although not admitting he may have faced the sack during the campaign, he admitted: “It is a long term project and it was never going to happen overnight.

“In fairness to the directors, they stuck with it. There were times this season when they thought this is not where we want to be which I thought exactly the same.

“But we are looking to build a team for the future and I think we are going in the right way. “ It is a different squad as well from the one which began the campaign back in the summer.

Britton said: “We have gone through a lot of players this season and that is because we want the right players for Yate Town. If we don’t feel they are up to it, we have to find someone else.

“It will be no different during pre-season. It is evolution but the players have responded brilliantly and we have to take this momentum into next season.”

And he thanks the fans for standing by the club. “It has been a little bit frustrating for them this season,” said the manager. “But hopefully they can see we are going in the right direction and we have turned a corner.

“It took us a lifetime to get off 22 points. We were stuck on it for so long but we knew during those games, through December and January when we were playing all the big hitters, we were playing ok and competing but getting nothing on the board for it.

“But it was nice to see at the end of the season that we got something for it. I hope the supporters can see we are going in the right direction and hopefully we will have a better season next time.”

Britton was backed by the board of directors who said, in an end-of-season statement: “The direction we set out for the club at the start of the season though difficult at times has now started to come to fruition.

“We end the season with a young squad that can compete in the league and we will continue to build for the future.

“We are presently talking to players seeking their commitment for next season and so far everyone is committed to continue on our journey. The team spirit and togetherness in a testing season has really come through and the players deserve credit on how they have handled the disappointments.

“We acknowledge that Polly (Britton) and his back room staff have worked tirelessly on the training field and just as important on the phone either recruiting or reassuring.

“The club set out to attract promising youngsters to progress at this level and we believe we have a great foundation for the future.”

The final victory saw Ball score from the penalty spot against Bridgwater Town after 16 minutes but when Bridgwater were handed a penalty of their own, they converted it to level at half-time.

However, Ciaren Greening made sure the Bluebells returned to the Jelf Stadium with all the points with a goal in the 52nd minute. It was Yate’s 12th victory of the campaign.

As expected, Hereford won the Southern League Division One South and West title by a canter, while Sailsbury, who were predicted to go up easily as well, had to wait until the final match of the season before their place was confirmed in the runners-up spot.

They beat Bideford 1-0 and finished a single point ahead of Tiverton Town in third.

Meanwhile, the statement from the board of directors has also updated fans on other off-the-field issues.

One of those is buying the Jelf Stadium back.

The statement continued: “We also stated at the beginning of the season that one of our priorities was to look at options to buy back the ground.

“We are pleased to advise that discussions are ongoing with Bloor Homes and, of course, we will keep you (fans) informed of any outcome over the next few months.”

And they have eased the club’s dependency on financial donations.

“We now have in place a number of new local businesses who are sponsoring the club.”