“We’ve got a great opportunity, so let’s go for it” says Coyle as Stonehouse target top five finish
Stonehouse Town Manager Adam Coyle has praised his side for overcoming a poor start to the season to leave them a real chance of reaching the Hellenic Division One play-offs with twelve games to go.
Coyle’s side won four of their opening ten league matches, before a run of eight league games unbeaten helped moved Stonehouse into 4th place in the table heading into the final couple of months of the season.
Alongside their league position, Stonehouse are still in the County Cup and Hellenic Challenge Cup so still also have silverware to play for at this stage.
Speaking on Saturday’s Buttee’s For Breakfast show, Coyle has praised his side for bouncing back from the slow opening to the season.
“We’ve had an amazing run,” said Coyle. “We’ve been brilliant since probably October onwards – our run’s been incredible.
Every competition, we’ve looked a really, really decent outfit, so it does make you pleased in considering the style we’ve had to be in fourth.
We kind of knew the group were good enough to get us nearer where we wanted to be, it was just kind of our learning, really, about what the best team was, best way of going around it in terms of styles, formations, etc.
We’re obviously really pleased where we are, but there’s a long way to go,” added Coyle.
After Stonehouse’s strong form to conclude 2025, they have yet to find real consistency in 2026, having drawn two, lost one but claimed a crucial win over Ludlow Town, meaning they have a four point buffer to the chasing pack and whilst some sides below Stonehouse have games in hand – Coyle has called on his side to take advantage of upcoming fixtures against the sides in and around them.
“Staying in the playoffs will be probably always our ambition [for this season],” said Coyle. “We set ourselves targets in terms of where we want it to be at the start of the season and we’re still pretty well on course for that.
We’re playing most of the teams around us, to be honest, and I think we’re playing most of them at home as well, so we’ve got a good chance – we’re a pretty good side at home, it’s not an easy place to come, our place.
A lot of teams are trying to shoot you down and we’ve got some tough games coming up, but we’re on course – we’ve got a good side and we’re playing well,” added Coyle.
The rest of February could be an exciting run for Stonehouse, who have away trips to Woodford United and Thame United Reserves to navigate, alongside a 4th vs 5th fixture at the Ben’s Takeaway Stadium against Newent Town to come – plus Quarter Finals against local sides Slimbridge and Shortwood United all in the next couple of weeks and whilst the chance to make two Semi Finals has presented itself, Coyle admits the league remains the primary objective.
“I’ll be honest, the priority is the league. The cups haven’t really been a focal point to us, we’ve kind of been lucky, really, that the cup games have fallen at good times. They could have fallen at a lot worse times where we had injuries or a real busy period.
The club didn’t say to me when they brought me in to go and win the Challenge Cup or win the County Cup, that wasn’t the aim.
Whether it’s a two-year project, three-year project, or a one-year project, the club want to get promoted. The club want to go up and they’ve got massive ambitions – there’s loads of work going on off the field.
We’ve got to do our part on the field and I don’t want to hide behind the whole two-year, three-year project, it’s an easy thing to do.
We’ve put ourselves in a great position now to get in the top five, we’ve got a great opportunity, so let’s go for it,” said Coyle.
Listen to the full interview with Adam Coyle on Buttee’s For Breakfast this Saturday morning, live from 9am
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