From rough seas, Premier South club emerges
Swindon Supermarine moved farther away of the Pitching In Southern League Premier South relegation zone with their 3-0 victory over Plymouth Parkway on Saturday.
The victory took the Wiltshire team to three games without a loss. The team’s fortunes had improved since Stuart Fleetwood, a former Football League striker, was brought in earlier in the season, when they were struggling to stay at the bottom of the table.
The midfield player Liban Ibrahim, who has since established himself as a vital component of the squad’s engine room, said that “the morale of the team was very low when the Gaffer came in.” We had only managed to gain one point out of a potential thirty, and we were unable to break free from our losing streak.
Everything changed when we had a management transition and several new members joined the team.
While there have been some highs and lows along the road, overall we’ve made progress in the right direction. We were able to cross off our objectives one by one as we went along since we made sure they were all reasonable.
“We have a lot of quality on the team; we’re still in danger of going down, but we know that we can control it now, and if we keep working hard, we can accomplish our goals for the season.
“I’ve made enormous growth personally. All of us had a rough beginning to the season, and I frequently found myself playing off the bench in the first few weeks.
“I understood that all I needed to do was have patience, showcase my abilities when I got the chance, and eventually my time would come.” Every time I take the pitch, I have high expectations for myself, and I’m happy to have been able to establish myself as
“In every game and practice, we can push each other to the limit because as a group, we all want the best for each other.”The desire to succeed comes from the top, who have a professional attitude and approach.
“This season, the Premier South has very high standards. It’s higher than most people realise; players are stronger and more adroit than they were in the past, and there is very little room for error because, nine times out of ten, even the smallest mistake is penalised.Additionally, a growing number of players have entered this category after competing at higher levels, thus it’s helpful for new players like me to see
“It’s hardly surprising that so many young guys have advanced from this level into the professional ranks; it’s a great place to develop young talent.”
Ibrahim was crucial to the team’s decisive victory over Plymouth Parkway this past weekend after putting up a goal-scoring performance as Man of the Match in their previous game as they shared the victory with Tiverton Town.
“It wasn’t the kind of performance we would have usually given,” he continued. Our ability to quickly switch between our playing styles was put to the test.
“Normally, we like to pass the ball about and hold onto the ball, but we’ve also realised that winning is what matters most, and sometimes that means earning those three points the hard way!
“The goal for these final games is to distance ourselves from the relegation spots. There is a lot of confidence in our ability to succeed, but we also understand that we must stay concentrated on the task at hand since any moment of distraction will be exploited by the clubs battling it out below us.
“We don’t want to let all of this go to waste after the start we made to the season. Being in this position with eight games remaining is testament to the hard work that has been put in.”
Supermarine will play their next game at home on Saturday against Hendon.
