AFC Hayes defender Dan Bailey has revealed the secret to winning promotion from the Southern Division One Central, writes Arvin Raj.
Bailey joined up with Ian Crane’s side in October after being a part of the Burnham side that took the division by storm last season.
Grinding out results when you are not playing well is no easy task, but the 22-year-old says it’s something the Brook must learn to do this term.
“Consistency is the key,” Bailey explained. “At Burnham when we weren’t playing well, we’d still get a result because we kept working and trying to do the right things.
“Because we’re such a young side, we’re going to have to mature and develop a lot quicker by ourselves.
“That comes down to being disciplined and I hope I can help with that.”
Winning promotion to the Premier Division was one of the best feelings Bailey has enjoyed in his career so far, but the centre-half admits it probably led to his eventual Burnham exit.
He said: “It’s a strong league with little room for errors, and you don’t get much game time if you’re not performing week in week out, especially as a young centre half, so I’m grateful to Ian that he’s given me a platform to start playing regularly again and keep learning the game.
“Winning the league last season was one of the most enjoyable experiences I’ve had in football, but I don’t think I played more than three games consecutively.
“There’s some really top players at AFC Hayes, some that will be playing in leagues above in the future. I think we’d be disappointed if we don’t reach the play-offs.”
One team that do find themselves in the play-offs are Slough Town. However, they proved no problem for Hayes on Saturday as Crane’s team ran out 2-1 winners thanks to goals from Jerome Ecclestone and Lawrie Shennan.
Mark Burgess’s Northwood, who have also emerged as play-off contenders, drew 1-1 with Aylesbury United – Dave Lawrence on target for the Woods.
Burgess’s side were last night (Tuesday) due to face Hanwell Town in the second round of the Middlesex Senior Cup.
