I think the investment that I've done so far is well worth it, says Margate chairman Bob Laslett

MARGATE chairman Bob Haslett says the club are targeting back-to-back promotions.

The Hartsdown Park club had to settle for a third-place finish in the Ryman Premier League, finishing thirteen points adrift of champions Maidstone United.



MONEY WELL SPENT: Margate manager Terry Brown and chairman Bob Laslett celebrate the club's promotion into Vanarama National League South after beating ten-man Hendon 1-0 in the Ryman Premier League Play-Off Final.
Photo: Don Walker - Margate FC

Manager Terry Brown looked a jaded figure following his side’s 1-0 win against ten-man Hendon in yesterday’s Ryman Premier League Play-Off Final, after his side won a high-quality game against Dulwich Hamlet at home three days earlier.

Ryan Moss netted his 26^th goal of the season in the 39^th minute against Hendon, who were reduced to ten-men when striker Aaron Morgan was sent-off for a lunge on Margate’s right-back Gambeson Eying inside eighteen minutes.

Mr Haslett has bankrolled the club’s success having handed Brown an open chequebook as Margate had the highest budget in the Ryman Premier League during the season just finished.

“It’s beyond our wildest dreams, I guess, but it’s what we set out to do at the beginning of the season – this was our objective, to get promotion,” said Mr Haslett following yesterday’s win in Harrow.

“I have to say thanks to Terry and Stuart (Cash) and the footballing management. They’ve done really well with the team – thanks to the team. The team have been brilliant, a great bunch of guys. They’ve really performed exceptionally well.

“Also thanks to all of my directors and everybody that has really put a lot of effort into the club and most of all for the 12^th man – our fans!

“We have the most fantastic fans, great support. If you went to Bognor Regis (on the final day of the league season), you would have seen they were all dressed up in fancy dress.

“We’ve had 400 odd fans here today (for the play-off final), just stunning. I’m very proud of them. It’s been great support for the players as well.

“We’re on the first step. Five more promotions we’re in the Premier League! Barcelona here we come!

“We’ve got a lot of plans for the club. We’ve formed Margate FC community trust, which is now set-up and running so we’ve engaged with the community much more with the primary schools and the youth and so on.

“Our ladies’ team done really, really well this year. This (first team) done fantastic, our youth teams have done well.

“We’re just beginning to get it all together. It’s been a hell of a challenge.”

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers director explained why he bailed out the Kent coast club.

“My auntie lived just next to the ground and when I was a six or seven year old I used to go and see her and she used to drag me on to watch Margate,” reflected Mr Haslett.

“It’s always been my club as a kid so to be able to be the chairman is a very proud thing.

“Also, I had great times at Dreamland. I love Margate, it’s a fantastic resort, fantastic town and where there a part of the whole redevelopment of Margate and Thanet and east Kent.

“I think the investment that I’ve done so far is well worth it and we’re going to go on from there.”

The club spent ten years’ playing in the Ryman Premier League and will be playing in the rebranded Vanarama National League South next season.

Winning that league next season will be tough, especially with three other Kent clubs that will be challenging for the title in the shape of Dartford, Ebbsfleet United and Maidstone United.

“Well, I think our initial objective is really the Conference (which is now called the Vanarama National League)

“The Conference is a big stepping stone and that’s our first major objective.

“But the fact that where we are, 70 miles from London, there’s nothing to stop us being a Brighton or a Southampton and becoming a Championship club in the foreseeable future.

“Obviously we need to build the infrastructure, which we are looking to do, but as I’ve always said from the day I took over, there’s no point having a fabulous stadium unless you’re winning on the pitch and now we’re winning on the pitch and getting promotion so now we can start developing the infrastructure more, which we are doing.

“Thanet District Council are being very supportive, obviously they’ve had their issues recently over a bit of an election so things slowed up.”

With Margate fans celebrating their promotion in the background whilst being interviewed outside the Harrow Borough clubhouse yesterday, Mr Laslett was asked what promotion meant to him.

“Oh, it’s way, way up there, way up there!

“I was Wolves’ director which was very, very poignant, very important, very special for me, especially as my (sponsored) shirts were up in the Premier League!

“I was a director of Wolves, which was quite special, a boyhood dream and I was a director in the Premier League but this (Margate winning promotion) is quite different. This is back to my real grassroots of east Kent. This is non-league football. It’s great being director of a club that’s in the Championship or the Premier League. The thing is you’re not as close to the football or the fans as you are here today.

“Today as you’ve seen it’s so much more emotional to be so close to the fans and to see what it means to them so I think in my top ten, this has got to be one or two. This has got to be really, really up there, very much so, just because of what it means to these people, in an area which has struggled, Thanet, but we are now on the up, on the up and up.”

Brown admitted yesterday that his job would have been in “jeopardy” if he failed to win promotion after 17 months in charge.

But Mr Laslett said: “Terry has done all I’ve asked him to deliver.

“I’ve always said yes to Terry and whatever, whatever. We’re going to be going forward.  There’s not going to be no change. We’re going to go forward as we are.  Obviously there will be changes in the future because things happen but at the present time, Terry, Stuart and everybody has done a great job.”

The Margate chairman knows that Hartsdown Park will need to be vastly improved if the club are to chase his dream of rising through the leagues.

“We’ve got quite a lot of plans there. It’s very difficult to say too much about that because of the situation with Thanet District Council but we’ve got good plans.

“I want to bring Margate Football Club more into Hartsdown Park than it is currently because at the moment we train up in Kidbrooke in south-east London.

“I want to bring them all back to Hartsdown Park, which I’m going to do.  I don’t want to go into the details at the moment because what I’ve always said success on the pitch comes first then we do Hartsdown Park.”

When asked about his aspirations for next season, Mr Laslett made his point perfectly clear.

“We’ll go into the league and try to get promotion, that’s what we’re going to do!

“People do do back-to-back promotions. We’re going to go into it and we’re going to try and get another promotion.

“If next year we have to consolidate and stay where we are, well that’s ok, but we’re on a journey.”

Visit Margate’s website: www.margate-fc.co.uk