New Mills aim to build on their ‘Great Escape’

Harry Dean (left) and Chaz Whyte celebrate a crucial goal against Ashville. Photo by John Fryer.Harry Dean (left) and Chaz Whyte celebrate a crucial goal against Ashville. Photo by John Fryer.
Harry Dean (left) and Chaz Whyte celebrate a crucial goal against Ashville. Photo by John Fryer.
​​“Apparently at one point we were the form team in Europe alongside Bayer Leverkusen, so that tells its own story!”

​Those are the words of New Mills manager Chris Baguley, who last season oversaw a remarkable transformation in fortunes for the Church Lane club.

Staring relegation firmly in the face when he arrived in October and then barely playing another game before the start of 2024, the Millers eventually secured a haul of 34 points that would ultimately be enough to secure a 16th place finish, seven wins from their last ten games proving vital.

But that only tells half the story.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Chris Baguley helped mastermind a remarkable escape. Photo by John Fryer.Chris Baguley helped mastermind a remarkable escape. Photo by John Fryer.
Chris Baguley helped mastermind a remarkable escape. Photo by John Fryer.

The season had gotten off to an awful start. Under joint-bosses Dave Birch and Mike Norton, who had guided the Millers to a play-off place only two seasons before and seventh place in 2022/23, they secured just two draws before early September.

Norton and Birch were then replaced by Reece Brown and Melford Knight but they would only last a month in charge, the club’s overall form seeing an 11-game losing streak and then a 10-2 loss to eventual champions Brocton forcing another change with New Mills bottom of the table with just two points to their name.

Enter Baguley and his brothers Mark and Jamie.

Having most recently been with division rivals Abbey Hey, the coaching trio came in at Church Lane and completely revitalised the team, but their challenge upon arrival would prove to be more than just about improving results.

Chris said: “We got to the first training session on the Tuesday and there were 46 players that turned up. So there was an element of ‘what have I done?’ initially.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“It became pretty clear I’d need to make a lot of changes and in the end, I think only two of those 46 players stayed with us, although it took a few weeks to get the kind of squad we wanted.

“But the results then started to come and it became about momentum, which would prove to be the key word for the rest of the season really.

“Our first game was a 3-3 draw with Cammell Laird, where we could have won 6-0 or lost 6-0, so that was an eye-opener.”

Any chance of building on that first game on October 14 was, however, hampered by the British weather. A huge backlog of fixtures would eventually build up thanks to a series of postponed games, with waterlogged and frozen pitches their main enemy and with the Millers not playing a league game again until December 16, ironically against Cammell Laird once more where they ran out 3-1 winners.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Another break saw a gap until January 6 and a 2-1 loss at Maine Road, before a set of mixed results saw the Millers still struggling to hit any serious form.

But that all changed with a 3-3 draw at home to Droylsden on February 24.

From that point on, the Millers won five of their next six games, including a 6-0 success at Abbey Hulton.

Baguley said: “We beat my old club Abbey Hey and from that point really kicked on. We only ever took it game by game, rather than looking too far ahead. I’d suddenly turn up at games relaxed and just knowing we’d win, even against form sides.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I couldn’t have been prouder. The lads worked so hard and put in the blood, sweat and tears that you need if you are going to get out of a situation like that.”

Now, Baguley is determined to continue that momentum into the new campaign, with form like they showed since his arrival more likely to result in a play-off push than a relegation battle.

He said: “Had we played a whole season with that form I think we’d have been in the top two or three, so that has given us an idea of just what we can aim at this season.

“I’ve managed to keep a lot of the squad together. One or two have moved on which is a shame but understandable sometimes, but we’ve got a few new faces coming in with players really keen to come here and be part of a winning side.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

People have been ringing me at times, rather than the other way round, and it’s important too that they aren’t making big financial demands because that’s not what they should be in it for and I don’t want players like that.

“There’s no point in being a manager if you don’t aim high so I’m really keen to aim for the play-offs as a minimum next season, but there’s nothing to say we can’t win the league if we do things right.

“We’ve had a fairly short break so the momentum is still with us from last season. It’s up to us to take that forward now.

“The club have been brilliant with us. Ray [Coverley] and Sue [Hyde] have been so supportive and I can’t thank them enough. They want to kick on now and know that with good results come better crowds and opportunities and the chance to create something special.”

Related topics:
News you can trust since 1852
Follow us
©National World Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.Cookie SettingsTerms and ConditionsPrivacy notice