Scarborough Athletic Chairman Anticipates Exciting National North Season

Scarborough Athletic Chairman Trevor Bull is looking forward to the new National North season, highlighting the club's strong retained squad and encouraging fans to support the 'No Battle No Victory Fund' to aid further recruitment.

Scarborough Athletic are counting down to the start of the new National North season. Chairman Trevor Bull is looking forward to the club's homecoming and the return of competitive football to the Yorkshire Coast. The club is preparing for a challenging and demanding campaign against well-funded opposition, but the leadership remains highly confident following a successful previous season that saw them reach the playoffs. With the new season fast approaching, the focus behind the scenes is firmly on recruitment and preparation.

As the team gears up for the upcoming fixtures, the primary focus is on building a competitive squad while maintaining the strict financial stability that the club prides itself on. The chairman acknowledged the rapidly changing landscape of the league, noting that Scarborough Athletic will be competing against many clubs that are shifting towards full-time or hybrid training models, which brings a new level of intensity to the division.

Trevor said:

"It's a season that's going to be a tough season, but I think it's going to be really exciting with some big crowds because we're up against nearly half the league have gone full-time now or this hybrid model where they train three or four days a week, which I think is full-time anyway. And there's lots of teams in the league with a big bank balance behind them. So it's going to be tough, but we've done it before. I believe we've already got a great team. We just need to add to it."

Despite the financial disparity with some rivals, Scarborough Athletic has managed to keep a strong core of players from the previous campaign intact. The chairman believes the current squad already possesses the talent, dedication, and experience necessary to compete at the highest level of the division, praising their commitment to the club:

"I look at the list of players that we've retained. We've got 13 players. Any one of them 13 could get themselves into another first team in any club in our league, I think. Yeah, I know we've got a lot of talent, we've got a lot of commitment and a lot of dedication to Scarborough Athletic Football Club, so that will take us a long way. We still need a few more and that's what we're working on at the moment."

Praise was also directed towards the manager, Jono Greening, for his tireless efforts in assembling a squad capable of challenging at the top end of the table. The chairman emphasised that last season's playoff achievements were no fluke, but rather the result of meticulous planning, smart recruitment, and sheer hard work behind the scenes. The hunt for new talent continues as the club looks to bolster its ranks.

Trevor has full confidence in Greening to bring in more quality:

"It certainly can be said that he's recruited really well and that's what got us into the position that we've managed to find ourselves last year. So, you don't end up in the play-offs by accident. There's a lot of hard work goes on behind it and that's what's underway now. So, there will be some stars out there, and we'll be finding them."

Despite the overwhelming optimism surrounding the retained squad, the club faces significant hurdles in the current transfer market. Meeting the escalating wage demands of potential new signings remains a difficult challenge, prompting a direct appeal to the dedicated fanbase for additional support. The club's overarching financial strategy strictly prioritises covering all essential non-playing costs before allocating any remaining funds to the manager's playing budget.

Trevor added:

"If you think about what our main club objective is to play at the highest level of football possible within a prudent financial framework. In practice, what that means is, once we're confident we can cover all our non-playing expenses, then everything else is directed towards our manager to build the best team he can. Certainly, we're finding that player recruitment is quite difficult because of the wage demands of players we are speaking to, so if any supporters want to assist with that, join the No Battle No Victory Fund."