Paul Marshall: Tadcaster Albion’s season a failure

After a prolonged period at the summit of the Premier League, The Brewers ended the season in third place, eight points behind eventual winners Shaw Lane.

A 2-1 defeat to eventual runners up Worksop Town signalled a disappointing end to a season which had promised so much just two months ago.

Tadcaster’s record-breaking run in the FA Vase was cut short by Highworth Town in the quarter final, heralding a plummet in form which saw the Brewers pick up two points from four league games.

Despite then missing out in the penultimate stage of the County Cup and the League Cup, this season has been Tadcaster’s most successful but Marshall admitted he was hoping for more rewards.

He said: “The disappointment for the season had already set in when Shaw Lane won the league and we just gave it our best shot to finish second.

“I feel disappointed that we have not been able to achieve some silverware, that’s my biggest regret.

“When you fight on all four fronts and then miss out it’s disappointing as a manager. It has been our most successful season but, from my point of view, it’s been a failure because we did not win anything.”

While Tadcaster proved clinical in their clashes against sides underneath them, their title charge stuttered in key fixtures, picking up just one point from six games against the top four contenders.

With dreams of playing in the Evo Stik Division One North gone, Marshall will have to prepare for another tough season in the NCEL but ruled out the possibility that his future lay away from Tadcaster.

He said: “I’m still committed to the club without a doubt. I will have a meeting with the owners and we will see what we need to do to move forward as a club because it’s their first full season in charge.

“I think they’re quite happy with what has been achieved so far. They would have liked success but we’ve not achieved it and will look at why and how we can build for next year.

“Getting to that quarter final of the Vase and leading the league for six months has been my high point, we had an amazing run in the league where we managed to stay top until March.

“It’s going to be another tough league and I think there will be six to eight teams fighting for the title next year but we will be one of the favourites. We have had two near misses so we need to hit the target next time.”