Trevor Kennedy dedicated Bangor Amateurs’ promotion to the loyal band of men who refused to let their club die during some troubled times over the last decade or so.
The Clandeboye Road outfit secured 1B football next season after years of knocking on the door with a 1-0 win at home to champions Aquinas on Saturday courtesy of Curtis Beattie’s penalty, though in truth the point they earned at Rosemount four days earlier all but sealed the deal.
Kennedy has been with the Ams for the last five years, and seven altogether when an earlier spell is included, so he knows the club inside out and remembers when the outlook wasn’t so bright, when they lurched from one tanking to another and at one stage, even came perilously close to folding.
In their hour of need, however, long-serving clubmen including chairman Andrew Montgomery stood strong, and their patience and effort has finally been rewarded with the Ams tasting just two defeats all season in the league en route to promotion.
“The club struggled for years and were getting beat eight and nine and, at one stage, nearly closed the doors so this is massive for us,” said Kennedy, who manages the club alongside Gareth McClean.
“The likes of the committee and especially the chairman, who have invested their own time and money to keep the club afloat, a lot of the credit goes to them and this is for them as much as it is the players.
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“But I can’t also speak highly enough of the players, they have been fantastic and they are getting their rewards now.”
Reflecting on where he and his team got it right this season, Kennedy keeps returning to the word commitment.
It’s a touchy subject in the Amateur League, with so many managers bemoaning the attitude of the modern-day player.
But Kennedy admits, while far from perfect, he couldn’t fault his own squad, with their dedication, particularly during the long dark nights from October to March, paying off on match day.
“The Christmas period and the winter period, it’s a time of the season when things can really drop,” explained the Ams boss.
“When the cold, winter nights set in, boys can look out the window and maybe spin an old yarn, but to be honest, the guys have been fantastic, their commitment has been super.
“And that has stood us in good stead. The second half of the season we came out fighting fit and especially in the second half of games we have run over the top of teams. In the second half of a lot of games, our fitness has kicked in and we have taken over.
“Obviously we do have quality too, it’s not just all fitness, so it’s credit to the boys, they have been committed and it’s paid off.”
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With a group of five or six teams all battling to join Aquinas in 1B next season, it was always likely whichever team could put a run together would find themselves in contention.
And that’s exactly what Bangor Amateurs managed to do, witha3-1home reverse to Suffolk on February 23 their only defeat in their last 13 league games, 11 of which were wins.
“We lost 3-1 to Suffolk which was disappointing, but it was a bit of a kick in the arse, and ever since then we went on a super run, scoring for fun,” said Kennedy.
“Again, it was mainly due to fitness, it is a key period of the season, but we came out the other side.
“And we just focused on whoever we were playing that week and if you go on a run in any league, it shoots you up the league.
“But this league this season in particular, I’ve been involved in it for five years now, three as a player and two as a player-manager now, and this has been the toughest, no doubt about it.
“And it’s just typical of us that we’ve gone and done it when it’s at its toughest, whereas in years gone by, we’ve been there or thereabouts but fell at the last hurdle.
“But what I would say is this year, it’s been in our hands, whereas years gone by, we’ve needed a favour here or there and not including the Suffolk result, we’ve came out the second half of the season and did the business.”
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