Haseldin hopes strong start for Holywell will continue into HGA season

Holywell Town got their 17/18 season off to a dream start last week with a 5-1 away win at Denbigh Town – but can they build on the result?

Y Clwb Pel Droed spoke to Holywell manager John Haseldin to find out, ahead of a home clash against title contenders Rhyl FC.

Looking at his side’s run of fixtures in August, Haseldin knew the importance of a good start and the confidence Holywell can take from their five-goal victory.

“Yes it was a very pleasing performance we have got a really tough August so it was important for us to get off to a winning start. We will take confidence from the result and move on to the next game.”

Not only Haseldin but the whole club is now focused on Rhyl’s visit to Halkyn Road in a game that echoes the League of Wales (LOW) era.

“Everyone at the club is looking forward to the Rhyl game it’s a fixture that hasnt happened for far too long going back to the LOW days. They are one of the favourites to win the league so we are expecting a really tough game. There’s huge expectations at the club and they’ll be desperate for a win even at this early stage of the season.”

The Holywell boss says the quality of the league is getting stronger every year, and with this comes the challenge of keeping his team at the right level of the competition.

“The quality of the league is getting stronger every year, we have just got to make sure we continue to move forward and not get left behind.”

Ahead of what is set to be a long and hard Huws Gray Alliance season, Haseldin says the club benefits from a low key transfer window with any business executed early on.

“We don’t have a big turnaround of players so it was just as important to make sure we got the lads we wanted to keep from last year committed to the club again.

“We identified the areas we wanted to strengthen and managed to get them in early which was a bonus to have them on board for whole of preseason. I think we now have a really strong spine of experienced players that will improve us massively.”

Whilst Haseldin’s focus remains solely on Rhyl, ambitions at Holywell are high and after a difficult run last season, the team feels stronger after coming through it to finish in fifth place.

“Ambitions are to improve always! Last year we got into a sticky run and learnt a lot about the group they stuck together and finished on a high, which is what the players and the club are all about.

“Doing well in the league is our priority and we will need to be more consistent over the season if we are to better the last couple of years but with the squad we have and the way we play I believe we can upset anyone on our day.”