BIG SUMMER EXCLUSIVE: Main stays with Angels

Saturday 26th May 2007

Prized asset Jon Main, 26, has vowed to score even more goals for Tonbridge Angels next season - having signed a new one-year contract to stay with the progressive Ryman Premier League club, writes Stephen McCartney.

The striker with pace to burn, who joined the club from Cray Wanderers in January 2006, put pen to paper on a new contract eight days ago, but it was only tonight when the Kent club announced the deal - quashing the rumours about his future.

Chairman Nick Sullivan announced the news during the club’s presentation night, held in a marquee at the Betterview Longmead Stadium - which brought passionate applause from over 100 people.

OUR MAIN MAN IS STAYING: Tonbridge Angels chairman Nick Sullivan announces that star striker Jon Main has signed a new one-year contract to stay with the club.

Photograph courtesy of Dave Couldridge - www.tonbridgeafc.co.uk

Not only did the former VCD Athletic marksman score 44 goals for the Angels last season - the highest amount scored by anyone at this level or above - but he also netted seven hat-tricks in total - equalling a record set by Jimmy Constantine.

And he had his hands full of awards by the end of the evening, scooping the Supporters’ player-of-the-year, with 93 votes out of 126, players’ player-of-the-year and the Golden Boot.

Keith McCurley’s forty goals for the club during the 1961-62 campaign, was surpassed by the young looking striker - and he’s hungry enough to do even better next season and break even more records.

Main is happy to stay at Tonbridge next season, and explained EXCLUSIVELY to www.kentishfootball.co.uk tonight how he fared at recent trials at Football League clubs Wolverhampton Wanderers, MK Dons and Swindon Town.

“Personally, two went well, one didn’t go so well,” he said. “The two went well was Wolves and Swindon.

“The MK Dons, I (didn’t do) that well, but I thought I did as good as I could get, so not much else I could do there.

“I got invited back pre-season with MK Dons and Swindon, but I didn’t want to go.

“I just think it’s dangerous to go trialing pre-season so I wanted to sign for the club here - Tonbridge Angels.”

Main enjoyed many moments of excellence during the campaign, but his fifth hat-trick of the season, against big-spending side Chelmsford City in January, alerted the Essex side to his goalscoring talents.

“I suppose it’s got to be the hat-trick against Chelmsford,” he said when recalling his best moment of the season.

He added: “I spoke to Chelmsford, but I prefer it down here.”

Despite getting all the headlines for his prolific goalscoring, Main, however, paid tribute to his team-mates for supplying him the chances.

He said: “The aim is to beat what I don’t this year - with the boys behind me. I wouldn’t have done it without them, would I?

“I think we scored just as many as we let in, so we’ve got to sort the defence out but I think we could push on a lot better from that - make the play-off’s.

“Of course I’m disappointed (not making the play-off’s), it’s always good to be involved in them sort of games.”

But Main is delighted that he has settled his future.

He added: “I’m pleased I’ve got myself sorted and we’ll see what happens. I’ll get my head down and keep scoring.

“I had my mind made up that I’ll stay in the League, I’ll stay with Tonbridge so I didn’t not push it out of my mind - I always sort of knew it might happen.”

Manager Tony Dolby, who started his playing career as a professional at Millwall, is delighted that Main has accepted the club’s offer to stay.

“Jon’s signed with us for next season,” he said. “He’s had a few trials that haven’t quite materialised into offers from the professional clubs that he’s been at.

“He shouldn’t be disheartened about that. He’s had a fantastic year and he realises the potential with Tonbridge and he did say prior to any of these trials, if he was to remain at part-time football, then this was the club he wants to be at.

“As it’s transpired, he has signed, he’s taken the decision to sign with us when he did, knowing that it was a very good offer that we offered him and the fact that he’s still learning his trade.

“Last season he didn’t score very many goals, didn’t play exceptionally well at all. We’ve worked on him very hard, he’s worked very hard, but at the end of the day he’s only had one very good season as in this season.

“Last season he played well for Cray when he was there, then he came to us and it took him a little while, worked extremely hard.

"He’s got pace to burn, he knows where the goal is and we’ve got a lot more work to do to sort of emulate what he did last year or even get even close to it.

“It’s a great capture for us. To get out and purchase somebody whose scored the amount of goals he’s scored at this level would be such a hard task, but we’ve got him and we can look forward to working with him during the summer.”

Chairman Mr Sullivan, meanwhile, paid tribute to Main’s commitment to the club - and explained in just three words how the club have re-signed their prized asset.

“We’re nice people!”, he said. “In fairness to Jon, he’s always said that if he couldn’t go full-time that he’ll stay here and he’s been true to his word.

“We haven’t stopped talking. We’ve been talking since before Christmas and Jon actually signed for us a week ago, Friday.”

Tonbridge Angels are expected to better their eleventh placed finish last season, with their Main man leading the line.

“There’s an expectation for the whole football club,” said Mr Sullivan. “We’ve done very well this season and we have to push on and Jon is part of a jigsaw, no more, no less.

“Yes, he scored 40 odd goals but he’s got good players around him, and he’ll get chances again.”

The chairman is preparing for his third season at the helm of the west Kent club, and revealed the ground improvements still to go ahead during the close season.

“I think we’re slightly ahead where I thought we’d be,” he said. “There’s a lot of work going on, it’s steady progress.

“There’s no point being a yo-yo, up and down one minute and down the next.

“Aims? To better what we did this season. Most importantly get enough points to stay up and when you hit that, then you try and better what you done the previous year and that will be our aim.”

He added: “In the summer the grass is being ripped up on the clubhouse side and we’re looking to put in a bit of raised terracing.”

Dolby has completed his second closed season signing, bringing former Millwall and Crawley Town Sidcup-born defender James Donovan, 22, from their Ryman Premier League rivals Margate.

“James is a very big lad,” said Dolby. “He’s a centre half, he’s six foot four and he’s played at Millwall and Crawley before going onto Margate.”

Dolby’s other capture was set-piece specialist, midfielder Anthony Storey, who impressed during his five game loan spell from Lewes last December.

Dolby said: “Anthony came here, middle of last year, he’s got a fantastic attitude, he’s technically very, very gifted and he’ll add a lot to our set-pieces, which we lacked a bit this year.

“Obviously the pair of them will need working on, as will all the boys, but I think these two, along with Jon staying, is a positive start to the summer spending.”

Dolby revealed the rest of his squad are staying but Adam O’Neill (playing football in America), Ian Parkes (University) and the injured goalkeeper Aaron Kerr are not expected to feature.

But Dolby, 34, admitted he’ll have to get himself match fit for the start of the new season as Nick Barnes, Jon Beales and Scott Kinch are suspended for their first three games of next season, and Ray Powell (five).

TERMS

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