Tooting & Mitcham boss Frank Wilson has urged his side not to be one-hit wonders after they clinched promotion to the Ryman Premier Division.
The Terrors finished the season level on 105 points with Dorking Wanderers, who they lost to on the final day of the Ryman Division One South season, but their superior goal difference saw them promoted as champions.
Winning promotion is an incredible achievement for the 30-year-old Terrors manager, but the feeling is taking some getting used to.
Wilson said: “It’s a weird feeling. There have been some mornings where I’ve woken up, not feeling empty, but feeling a little bit like it’s all done and dusted.
“But then you are reminded when you see a picture, read an article or see it on the Ryman site.
“Remembering last weekend and that feeling of getting over the line and winning the title – it was an amazing feeling and one that you can’t plan for.
“It was quite tense leading all the way up to the last game at Dorking, but actually securing the title on the day and seeing all the fans at the ground and how happy they were that we had secured it – it was the most memorable moment in my managerial career so far.”
CHAMPIONS: Tooting & Mitcham celebrate clinching promotion to the Ryman Premier
The season may only just have finished, but Wilson is already looking ahead to next campaign.
He said: “The status of Ryman Premier football means so much to this football club and to me personally.
“When you win a division it’s not just being proud that you’ve secured something that year, it’s also having the belief in yourself, your staff and your players that you are able to secure that.
“What we don’t want to do is be a one-hit wonder. We don’t just want to be successful one year and then struggle the next, it’s about building a foundation.
“We’ve worked hard on that in the last few years so we feel like we are in a good place.
“We’ve got the full backing of the chairman and everybody involved at the club and we need to use that as the foundation of securing ourselves Ryman Premier football next season and after that see what we can build on.”
Wilson remains calm and focused about the fresh challenge that lies ahead and while some movements are inevitable, he doesn’t plan on making wholesale changes to his team over the summer.
Wilson said: “Without scaremongering any of the players, I think that everybody is realistic in as much as when you step into the tier of football above inevitably there will be changes.
“But we have sat down with the players already and given everybody the vote of confidence to say that what we have achieved as a squad this year is a huge feat.
“This squad of players is going to be good enough to compete in the Ryman Premier this year, no doubt about it.
“Naturally there will be strengthening in areas that we feel we need to strengthen, but we are going to make sure that we are absolutely fully prepared and fully happy and satisfied with the squad that we build coming into a new season in the Ryman League.”
