Pic: Matt Bradshaw
By Chris Dunlavy
CHELMSFORD CITY manager Rod Stringer has backed misfiring striker Luke Daley to prove the doubters wrong this season.
The ex-Norwich trainee arrived from fellow National League South side Dartford last summer but was largely restricted to substitute appearances.
He scored just four times as the Clarets limped home in 15th place and was widely expected to be jettisoned when Stringer took charge at Melbourne in May.
But the 26-year-old – who also appeared for Plymouth, Lincoln City and Braintree – has started pre-season with a bang, netting twice in as many games to banish memories of a frustrating first term.
Excellent
“Like a lot of the players here, Luke's had a few question marks dangling over him,” said Stringer, who ended a four-year stint with Bishop's Stortford to join Chelmsford.
“When I arrived, people were saying ‘Why are you keeping him, he couldn't get in the team, he isn't good enough'.
“But I promised a clean slate for everyone and I think that's exactly what Luke needed. His work-rate has been excellent, his finishing has been clinical. His all-round play has been decent.
“All the lads that are left have raised the bar and Luke's a great example of that. He's really bought into what we're doing and I've got high hopes for him.
“His ability earned him a career at Norwich and Plymouth. If we can get him back to that, he could be massive for us.”
Having repeatedly kept Stortford in National South on a shoestring, Stringer is determined to end years of underachievement at Chelmsford, with a top six budget failing to yield a play-off place in any of the past three seasons.
“When you look at the size of the club, the city itself and the money that's been spent, it's definitely not been good enough,” added Stringer, who has made 14 signings this summer, including former Cambridge, Luton and Newport man Robbie Willmott.
“There's been a bit of mismanagement, not just on the football side but upstairs as well. The chairman, Trevor Smith, is realistic about that. This last few years, the money probably hasn't been spent on the right players.
“And it doesn't matter who you are – if you don't get the right players for the right money then you'll struggle to build a successful team.
“When you look at the budget we worked on at Stortford, I'd be very surprised if we weren't the lowest spenders. Just staying in that division was as good as getting in the play-offs.
“All we could do was sign players who were desperate to play at the level because we couldn't compete for the ones who had experience. It was tough, but we showed there's more to success than money.” And for Stringer, a Conference South winner with Braintree in 2011, success means only one thing.
“Everybody needs a target,” he said. “At Stortford, that was staying up. Now I want to compete at the other end. I'd like to see us up and around the play-off areas, or even go one better. For us, the only way is up.”
