Players culled to pursue target

2:00pm Friday 14th November 2008

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The signing of Tom Claisse this week brought the total of new faces at Avenue to four since the month began, which is a sure sign that boss Dave Cameron is not happy with the squad.

The board made strong claims at the beginning of the season and expectation levels were high. Despite being new to the UniBond Premier Division after marching off with the Division One North title last season, the noises coming from Horsfall were that a second successive promotion was the target.

There is no doubting the validity of their intentions; more than likely every team in that division had aspirations to win it. The UniBond Premier Division is not the Premier League and does not have a top four.

This division, like every other in the non-league pyramid system, is more genuine than the top-flight. It is not laden with multi-millionaire players and there are few internationals on view.

In old fashioned terms, it is pure and very exciting because any one of the clubs involved can win it. However, it is still the same industry and a cut-throat business.

The Avenue board, and chief executive Bob Blackburn in particular, are working hard to ensure enhancement. Blackburn, Dr John Dean and Kevin Hainsworth are also providing considerable financial backing.

In turn that gives them the right to expect a return and also make demands. After a good start to the campaign, Avenue stuttered through an indifferent month and that has led to Cameron looking to improve his squad.

The boss shrugs off any talk of pressure but football is such a results-based job that no one is immune. As the media were claiming just a week ago, even Arsene Wenger is under scrutiny.

Before the pressure builds, Cameron is confident and brave enough to go with his instincts and he has decided some of his squad are not capable of taking the club forward.

He let Tom Baker leave and disciplined other senior players to establish just who was in charge but was prepared to welcome Stuart Rudd back into the fold when the striker had an 11th hour change of heart about a transfer to rivals Kendal Town.

Other players will move on because Cameron has told them privately they are either not good enough or not committed enough.

That has created room for former Bradford City youth team player Claisse, the Morgan brothers Matt and Rob and Luke Holden to be brought in. With Mike Marsh now on board as assistant and coach, the club are looking to make a big push at a time when promotion rivals are wilting.