Maltby Main FC focuses on improving pitch and building competitive team under new management

With its sloping surface, Maltby Main’s ground at Muglet Lane is a difficult proposition for away teams in the Northern Counties East League.

But the pitch can also be a hindrance for the home team, which is something chairman Kieran Gallagher is aware of.

He said: “We want to get the pitch looking good so that we can start playing better football. It also makes a massive difference when you are trying to sign players.

“"If you have a decent surface, you could play in the middle of a field, you could play anywhere. As long as the surface is spot on it doesn’t matter about the surroundings.

"It is about trying to get the ground and the pitch looking something like. It is a bit late now so we might have to do it during the season now.

“I made a good job at Kiveton with the pitch so hopefully we can repeat that.”

Gallagher spent three years at Kiveton Miners Welfare FC before leaving after plans for ground improvements ran into local opposition.

Manager Lee Thompson and assistant Jamie Smith have followed him to Maltby, who have been a fixture in and around the top half of the NCEL Premier in recent years and reached the last two finals of the Sheffield Senior Cup.

“It’s a new club for them as well as me and it will take a while to get settled in,” said Kieran.

“We want to go in and make things better. It’s a fresh pair of eyes. A fresh approach is what the club needs, trying different avenues to get stuff done.

“We are making strides to do that. Behind-the-scenes stuff is changing and we are on right track to get what the club needs to happen.”

With Thompson and Smith both having operated at pro level, they can tap into some good contacts up the leagues.

“Our main aim is to try and get some good players so we can compete to try and get in the play-offs,” added Kieran.

“We are not saying we are going to win the league in the first year but we want to go and compete, so let’s see how the league goes, how competitive it is.

“We also want to bring the community and more fans in and try and get the club a bit higher. We would love to get promotion up to Step 4. I’m looking forward to the task.”