The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
AIMING HIGH: New Holbeach United joint boss Graham Drury. Photo by GETTY IMAGES
New Holbeach United joint-boss Graham Drury believes that winning the FA Vase and UCL Premier Division are achievable goals next season.
The former Boston United, Stamford and Corby Town chief agreed to join forces with John Chand at Carter’s Park after holding talks last week – ending his 15-month sabbatical from the game.
Drury admits that he was surprised to hear from Chand regarding the role with the Tigers and told The Voice that he wasn’t really looking to get back into management.
But the lure of adding both the FA Vase and UCL Premier Division trophies to his CV proved too tempting for the highly-rated boss to turn down.
Drury said: “It all came a bit out of the blue if I’m honest. I wasn’t really looking to get back into football and was enjoying having a bit of spare time to myself.
“Me and John had a few chats and I decided to give it a go. He’s an ambitious guy and so am I, so we’re not doing this just to make up the numbers.
“It seems like a lifetime ago since I last managed in the UCL and I’ve actually never won the Premier Division, so that’s one of the lures of the role.
“But having a real go in the FA Vase really appeals to me, it was a really big pull.
“I saw how well Wisbech Town and Spalding United did last year, so that’s something we can target.
“I’ve not come here to make up the numbers. We’ll be chasing those two trophies.”
Drury’s last taste of UCL Premier Division football was back in 2005 with Harrowby United, who he guided to third after winning promotion from Division One.
That earned him a move to Stamford, before a switch to Corby in January 2008.
He saved them from relegation in his first season in charge before leading them to the Southern Premier League championship in 2009. A return to Stamford followed after his contract with the Steelman expired in 2012 – and he helped guide the Daniels to second place in Evo-Stik League Division One South.
That alerted Boston United and Drury took the reins at York Street in 2013, but he was sacked after just 13 games and had more than a year out from the game before joining Holbeach.
His numerous roles over the years have allowed Drury to build up quite an impressive set of contacts, but the 43-year-old admits he’ll need to convince a number of his targets to drop down a level or two.
He added: “Obviously John knows a lot more about the UCL than me. But I do know quite a lot of players that I feel may be loyal to me – and hopefully a few will follow me here.
“It’s all about me and John creating the right combination of players.
“We’ve already heard people saying that we’ll be paying out massive wages.
“That isn’t the case. If players come here it’ll be for the right reasons.
“I’m confident we can put a very strong side together.”
