CLEGG CALLS FOR A REALITY CHECK

MICHAEL Clegg says Warrington Rylands will play with more ‘realism’ after a chastening first season at Step 3.

- Chris Dunlavy

Bought by agent Paul Stretford in 2018, the Blues won three promotions in four years but struggled for consistency in the NPL Premier last term.

Long-serving manager David McNabb left early in the campaign and replacement Jody Banim resigned 11 games from home, leaving Clegg to pick up the pieces.

As the architect of Atherton Collieries’ meteoric rise through the pyramid, the 39-year-old instantly identified the source of Rylands’ woes and has spent the summer “realigning” his owner’s soaring ambition.

“I’m not saying for a moment that they didn’t respect the opposition,” says Clegg. “But they’d been on an upwards spiral so long that I just don’t think they realised the league would be as tough as it was. In the end, that caught up with them.

“I did it myself with Atherton Cols, so there’s no better person to say ‘Look, I know where you’ve been, I know what you’ve done, and I know what happens next’.

Process