The Thoughts Of 'Admiral' Nelson On The Season So Far

by Northern League News

Park View manager Michael Nelson believes his side have laid solid foundations for the season but insists there is still more to come from his young squad.

Nelson’s men made a strong start, going unbeaten in their opening six matches before suffering back-to-back defeats.

However, they responded in style, producing six consecutive clean sheets to reassert themselves as one of the most organised outfits in the division.

“We started the season really well and picked up some good results remaining unbeaten in our first six games,” Nelson said.

“We then had a little setback losing two games back to back but responded really well keeping six clean sheets in a row following those two defeats."

"Although the start has been positive for us I still believe we have more to give and are capable of better performances.”

The Park View boss also outlined what success looks like for the club this campaign, with ambitions stretching beyond league position.

“We would obviously love to go further than we did last season where we lost in the play-off semi-final on penalties to Jarrow,” he explained.

“Our programme that we run though has different versions of success with us aiming to get the young players we have into professional clubs or a high standard of non-league."

"If we were able to do that with any of the players then that would be seen as success for us.”

One player Nelson highlighted is attacker Charlie Loveday, who has already caught the eye this season with his pace and trickery.

“In terms of excitement and forward play Charlie Loveday can turn a game in the blink of an eye and is very lively in games,” Nelson said.

“He is very quick and skilful and has a good amount of goal involvements already this season.”

Reflecting on lessons learned from last year, when Park View pushed hard but fell just short in the play-offs, Nelson believes his young squad have grown in resilience and self-belief.

“The biggest thing we learned as a group was that despite our average age and relative inexperience at the level compared to a lot of the other teams we can more than hold our own and back ourselves in every game we play,” he said.

“This season we have already gone to Seaham Red Star who were second in the league when we played them and Redcar Town who were top of the league when we played them and drew 0-0 in both games.”

With a strong defensive platform, exciting attacking talent, and a manager determined to push standards higher, Park View look well equipped to build on last year’s progress and challenge once again at the top end of the table.