CHRIS Moore does not want a repeat of the play-off heartbreak he suffered with Uxbridge last season and has targeted automatic promotion with his new club.
Moore was part of the Uxbridge squad that crashed out of the Evo-Stik Division One Central play-offs at the semi-final stage in May and has previously been dumped out of the Blue Square South end-of-season lottery with Chelmsford.
The 32-year-old former Brentford and Dagenham & Redbridge striker signed on the dotted line with Gordon Bartlett’s Stones last week and made his debut in Saturday’s disappointing 3-0 defeat at Lowestoft Town.
Ironically, Lowestoft’s Crown Meadow ground was the scene of Wealdstone’s own play-off semi final downfall last season as they conceded a last-minute penalty to keep them in the Ryman Premier for another year.
Moore is determined to help the club achieve promotion after making the move from Honeycroft and wants to leave nothing to chance by ensuring the Stones go up as champions.
“I’ve never won the play-offs,” admitted Moore. “We got to the semi-finals with Uxbridge last season and I lost with Chelmsford against Hampton and Richmond in the Blue Square South semis.
“I don’t think we’re necessarily aiming for the play-offs. I don’t see any reason why we can’t aim for the top and go on and win the league. We’ve got a good side so I think we can challenge for the title.”
A 3-0 defeat was not what Moore had in mind for Wealdstone debut and the experienced frontman is looking to put things right as the Grosvenor Vale crowd get their first glimpse of him in action on Saturday against Enfield.
“It was a disappointing result but I understand Lowestoft are a bit of a bogey team for us,” he said. “I was looking forward to Canvey on Tuesday but that was postponed so it’s on to Saturday now and lets get three points. I knew the quality that Wealdstone had when I signed so one slip up isn’t going to put me off.
“I sat down with Gordon and had a chat. I told him I just want to play football and I wasn’t interested in the financial side of it. I know what the club is about and he gave me his input into the way he wants to go about things.”
Moore will compete for a first-team spot with Stones goal-machine Richard Jolly and former Watford youngster Peter Dean.
