LEE Ashforth’s promotion-chasing and unbeaten Campion are living the stuff of dreams, and they’ll be looking to extend their lead at the NCEL Division One’s summit at home to Armthorpe Welfare today.

Nobody could have envisaged the run which Campion have been on following an underwhelming campaign last time out, however, they’re certainly in the mood this season and have racked up a staggering +53 goal difference, while winning all but one of their 16 league fixtures (one draw).

One man who has contributed to their rise is the returning striker, Marcus Day. The latter returned to Campion for a second spell at the club in the summer after departing Harrogate Railway, and he has gone on to score 20 league goals already, something which has impressed his boss immensely.

Ashforth said: “He’s (Marcus Day) top scorer in the division and he’s been superb. It’s funny how things happen, as we put a list of targets down in the summer and he wasn’t on that list because we didn’t think that he’d leave Harrogate Railway. However, there was a bit of a rumour going around that a couple of clubs had been in for him and that he was weighing up his options, and that prompted us to get involved. Thankfully, we rang him and met him the same day at McDonalds near Elland Road,” Ashforth joked.

The Campion boss added: “We tried to persuade him there and then, and we drove away from that meeting thinking we’d got him and sure enough, we did.

“I’ve always rated Marcus as a top player, a top professional and I’ve tried signing him on a number of occasions in the past, so to finally get him whilst at Campion, it’s a massive statement for us.

“Not only does he have a lot of quality, but he also has great experience and it’s valuable to have in a young team like ours. Because he’s played at a higher level too, he brings the right attitude and know-how to the squad, and that kind of experience can help to be the difference maker for a team fighting for promotion.”

Campion’s start may have shocked some people, however, the groundwork which was initiated in the summer was always going to stand them in good stead for the forthcoming season, and Ashforth has been delighted with the foundations which were laid.

He said: “It’s been really good to be involved in so far this season, certainly after the disappointment of last year. We went out, recruited well and got together what we thought was a competitive squad for this season. You never know how things are going to pan out until the season gets going because you don’t know what the other teams are doing.

“We talked early on about getting some momentum together and making sure we started the season well, and that has been the message which we’ve continued to give. There’s no point in dressing it up in any other way, but we’ve done fantastically well, and we’ve given ourselves a real good chance of doing well over the course of the season.

“Momentum has been massive for us; it’s the only thing that you can’t coach. You can work on set pieces, shape and the way you want to play, but momentum comes through hard work and that’s what we’ve achieved both on and off the pitch. We’ve also been able to keep a consistent squad throughout the season which has meant that we’ve been able to rely on a solid group of 18 or 19 players most weeks; that’s been a blessing for us.”

Ashforth added: “We’ve always looked for a rapport between ourselves as coaching staff and the players, so we often ask for feedback and communicate with the experienced members of the squad to ensure we are all singing off the same hymn sheet. That’s what we’ve done and it means that all the squad can buy into our ideas and ensure they have a full understanding on what we are asking from them.

“Normally in teams you can get one or two ‘problem players’ but we don’t seem to have that this season; we seem to have a group of players that even when they have been left out of the side, as much as they are disappointed, they understand the reasoning behind the decisions and are eager to impress when they get their chance.”

Campion take on Armthorpe Welfare today with a near fully fit squad to choose from, and they’ll be hoping to extend their lead at the table’s summit.

Looking ahead to the fixture, Ashforth said: “It’s another fantastic opportunity for us to continue our great run, and it would put us in a great place at the top of the table. Armthorpe are a very quick, energetic and tactically astute team, so we are expecting a tough fixture, that’s for sure.

“We know how important it is going to be for us to continue picking up victories because although we have two games in hand, any points dropped will set us back and allow the other teams to close the gap.”
With the World Cup on the horizon, many people will have a tentative eye on proceedings, as England look to go one better in Qatar.

Campion as a club will be paying close attention to the tournament, as many football fans around the world will be, however, Ashforth is hoping that it doesn’t act as a distraction to his side’s promotion push.

He said: “We’ve already spoke about this to the players, certainly with the England games in mind. We know full well that we’ll all have our attention on the England games, and we are aware that the lads will be distracted by it because they’re all England fans, so all we’re asking for is honesty. We know that the lads will go out on the Friday night games, but hopefully they don’t have a big drink and take it sensibly; that goes the same for the management team- myself and James included. Me and James are big on not going out on a Friday night and making sure we set the standards for a Saturday game. We’d expect that from the players as well.”