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AFTER a season of struggle, Malvern Town boss Joe Rawle can be forgiven for aiming for mid-table mediocrity next year.

Rawle, who took over from Paul Molloy in January, perfectly sums up their season as "tough and long", but despite a flurry of defeats during a difficult eight months, he says there are reasons to be cheerful despite their second from bottom place finish.

Overall the 2007/08 British Gas Business Division One Midlands campaign will be one Town will want to forget.

The darkest day of the season came on November 24 when Town went down 11-0 to Chesham United.

That caused the club to act and oust Molloy and bring back Rawle for his second spell as manager.

The results in the second half of the season proved reason for the Langland Stadium faithful to have hope. The defeats were narrow and the team were starting to build on confidence.

Then the breakthrough came. On Saturday, April 5, Town scooped a vital victory against promotion chasers Sutton Coldfield Town.

A mini revival followed through two draws but the season would end how it started with a 2-1 defeat against Bishops Cleeve. A piece of luck in an otherwise unfortunate campaign came right before a ball was kicked when Slimbridge withdrew from the division, which meant only the bottom team would be relegated.

This twist of fate would come in useful as Rawles' men would survive with a few weeks to spare and Berkhamsted Town were consigned to the drop.

He now hopes to put this campaign behind him, look at recruiting younger players and adding to the squad to form the nucleus of a side to push on during the 2008/09 season.

Rawle reflects on the relegation threatened season, saying it should be viewed as a learning curve for the club and one they aim not to emulate.

He said: "It's been a long, hard, tough season to be honest.

"Hopefully we've improved over the last couple of months of the season.

"We want to secure a mid-table position next year. We will try to establish ourselves next year.

"Last year we finished fifth or sixth from bottom and expected to push on this season.

"We only survived by the fact that Slimbridge pulled out at the start of the season.

"We have tried to push on over the last couple of months and we were getting some decent results near the end."

During a difficult campaign, Rawle highlights skipper Jaime Hyde as a "kingpin" for the side and praises him for his loyalty after he rejected a move to Bromsgrove Rovers.

Goalkeeper Craig Humphries was also labelled as "outstanding" by his boss.

Indeed, his end-of-season performances were enough to save Town from heavier defeats.

But Rawle is already putting this season behind him and looking ahead and has a clear idea of where he needs to strengthen his side.

He said: "We need about four key players for next year.

"We need to sign a dominant centre-half, a playmaker or a ball winner in midfield, and a 20-goal-a-season man up front.

"But if we are being realistic, Malvern have not got a lot of money to throw about."

After a relegation scare this year, Rawles' men will surely be doing all they can to make sure history does not repeat itself.

2:44pm Sunday 11th May 2008

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