Football Focus Issue 72 | Page 48

Bush Hill FOLLOW US ONLINE TWITTER.COM/FOOTYFOCUSMAG Bush Hill FOOTBALL CLUB B ush Hill FC enjoyed a fine season this time around, winning the Hampshire Premier League. They are now turning their attentions towards preseason and we recently caught up with First Team Manager Eugene McManus to find out the latest from Mansel Park. He told us, “I became Manager of Bush Hill FC in 2008 after the Coach had left the Country and I was asked by his Father, who is a Friend and ex-Team Mate, to get involved with the Club. Having had a few years off since I stopped playing I was ready to get back into football at a management level and felt I could build on the success already achieved by the Club.” “The most challenging thing in non- league football is to get the commitment level necessary week in week out; we have a generation that do not consider football paramount to their weekend at times choosing to attend a Race Day, Stag Weekend, Wedding etc. Pressure of work for absence is forgivable, anything else is 48 Issue 72 not. Rewards come in the form of results and nothing is more rewarding than winning games and in turn titles “After just winning the Hampshire Premier League everyone is buoyed and looking forward to the pre-season. It has been a successful season; we have achieved the League Title in only our 3rd season in Step 6/7 Football. The previous two seasons had seen us underachieve by our own standard, finishing 5th in two consecutive years without any silverware ... something we were not accustomed to. Our plan now is to enjoy the close season with five weeks off to rest then recharge and be ready for preseason training. “It’s a cliché but youth is the future; we have many players in the ‘twilight’ of their playing career and it is important that we grow generically so that younger players when ready to step up to senior football are trained in the Bush Hill style of Football. “We help players to make the step up to senior football by integrating them at the earliest opportunity. Youth and seniors train together, senior players take youth training sessions as we believe familiarity is key to removing anxiety or apprehension that can exist when taking that step up. “We are very much a community club, as a Charter Standard Club we actively promote our Club within this Community and beyond. As an FA Qualified Coach, I am a delivery partner