South Wales Welsh League Division Two

Aberdare Town boss Jones on his dream job, rebuilding and hopes for new season

Tom Pritchard 0
Evans was appointed to the role in October [Image: Jaggery]

It would be polite to say that Aberdare Town endured a difficult 2018/19 season, finishing rock bottom of the Welsh League Division Two, but now things are looking up for Simon Jones’ side.

The Aberaman Park outfit picked up just 11 points from their 30 league games last term, finishing 13 points from safety.

Jones was handed the job in May 2018, with chairman Garry Williams saying at the time “There are going to be a lot of changes over the coming months, and we see this as a long term appointment to get the Club re-organised without any pressure on him in regards to results on the pitch.”

In April, the Club confirmed that Jones would be staying on as manager following their relegation, stating “It was felt only right by the Club’s committee to allow Simon the chance to continue his work”, while admitting “Everybody went into the season with their eyes wide open that it was going to be a tough season and that relegation was a distinct possibility.”

Now Jones has his sights set on gearing the team up for a potential return to the third tier, with the old Division Two now known as Division One following a rebranding of Wales’ top leagues.

He insists that there will be no relegation hangover come the start of the season, with the team fully focused on achieving their aims.

“To be honest there hasn’t (been any hangover), we have just regrouped and started early to prepare for the coming season.

“It’s actually given a boost, which sounds crazy, but it’s true. The lads seemed to have gained unity as a result of facing the challenges this season will present.”

Probably their stand-out result of last season came when they beat then-sixth placed Caerau Ely, who went on to achieve promotion to the Cymru South.

Jones admits that he would have preferred last season to have been in Division Two (formerly Division Three), saying: “We had a completely new squad which always takes time to gel.

“This season we have added to the squad, not built one. None of us wanted the relegation but sometimes you have to go backwards to go forwards.”

The club have made a number of additions over the summer, as Jones explains why the approach this time around was different to when he first arrived.

“The players we’ve brought in were targeted, and last year we probably took players as we needed to create a squad, this season we’ve been quite specific in what we wanted, and possibly brutal in what we didn’t.

“We missed out on a few targets, but the lads who have come in are exciting and the core we kept from last season have taken them into the group brilliantly.”

While he hopes his side will be in the mix at the top of the table, the former Reserve team boss is realistic when highlighting the challenges ahead.

“Realistically it will be hard (to achieve promotion), there are plenty of quality teams in this division and we hope to be classed in the same bracket.

“We’ve studied this division’s past promotion winners and we have a clear strategy on the targets we need to hit if we are to achieve that goal.”

It goes without saying that Jones could easily have opted for a smoother introduction to senior management, but he reveals that it is a “dream come true to manage Aberdare Town”.

“I’ve been in the local leagues for many years, and have always wanted a chance to manage my home town club.

“Luckily, the club has stood by me and my management team as we try to help bring the good days back to Town.”

Aberdare Town begin their Welsh Football League Division Two campaign away at Pontyclun this Saturday.

 

(Featured image: Jaggery)

Related Story

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *