Positives in defeat, ambitions for season and family affair to start reign as Ben Deakin takes charge of Dursley
Dursley Town’s new head coach, Ben Deakin, aims for his side to “compete” on all fronts next season as he begins his exciting new role within the club, writes Sam Yapp.
Deakin dropped his playing duties in order to take a more hands on role within Dursley following the departure of Karl Nash at the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign, a role that he can’t wait to get fully immersed in.
“It was very, very different. I had spells with Karl throughout last season where I stepped in the odd game to manage but was never the main man.
“I was doing my first ever proper team talk, which was very interesting, but I felt that it went quite well.
“I have a great group of lads that I feel really want to learn and take on new things.
“It’s nice being stood in the dugout because I’ve definitely played a lot of football in my time so, I’m looking forward to doing the bits on the side from managing to organising the coaching,” Deakin said.
But it wasn’t a dream start for Deakin and Dursley in their pre-season preparations as they suffered a 4-0 defeat to Hellenic League Premier side, Slimbridge, on Tuesday night.
Slimbridge took an early lead on seven minutes when Jack Smith latched onto a long ball to delicately lift his effort over Olly Elliott in the Dursley goal.
“The first goal came from our mistake but then that’s just us being a little rusty, getting back into game mode,” he said.
Dursley held their own for a large portion of the game, but Deakin believes that the strength in changes that Slimbridge made were the difference in the result.
“There changes were probably a lot stronger than ours which has helped them keep control of the game in major periods,” he said.
The Swans doubled their advantage an hour later when Joe Stokes found the bottom corner from a delightful free kick.
A third was added for the hosts less than 10 minutes later when Smith grabbed his second of the evening with a well-placed finish past Elliott from close range.
The Swans rounded off their scoring on 81 minutes when Leighton Blacker was picked out beautifully by a long Bogdan Mara pass before rounding Elliott and firing home the Swans fourth.
Despite the result, Deakin couldn’t have been happier with how his team performed against a higher opposition in Slimbridge.
“There were genuinely more positives than negatives from point of view.
“The lads took on the instructions well that I had given them but there will be harder parts in that game just because of the different levels.
“We’ve finished that second half with four or five second team players and a third player on the pitch so, there is a huge difference in levels there, but they came on and did very well.
“Slimbridge have had a few weeks pre-season training and a game against Forest Green whereas, we’ve had four sessions as a club and went straight into this game with no actual one-to-one sessions as a first team.
“There is plenty to work on, but I am really happy from that first pre-season game,” he said.
Away from his first game begin against a team three divisions above Dursley, Deakin also was facing off with his brother, Tom Deakin, Slimbridge coach.
Deakin had played under his brother for a short stint at the Swans over the last few years, but Tuesday night saw them manage against each other for the first time which Deakin relished.
“There wasn’t even a couple of words said to each other, which is just normal.
“He was worrying about his bits and bobs, and I was worrying about mine, but we have got a really good relationship in football.
“He’ll massively help me where he can, and he’s unbelievable for that. I don’t have anywhere near as much to offer him, but we talk quite a lot.
“Tonight, it was fun to do it against him but there wasn’t any banter it was just us getting on with our jobs and getting the best out of our teams,” he said.
Dursley’s pre-season preparations step up in the coming weeks with the side facing teams such as Stonehouse Town, Frampton United, Hardwicke and Chalford.
Deakin wants to use these remaining games to get used to his new side and implement his style heading into the new season.
“We’ve got a really good pre-season schedule up against some Hellenic sides, County League opposition and another league side so, we have a nice batch of friendlies.
“We’ve got plenty of games where we can look to dominate the ball as the lads in the changing room jokingly said, ‘can we not start next season against Slimbridge?’
“It’s now about trying to implement as much as I can with whatever I think we need before we start the season that can help us win games.
“Results aren’t an issue for me in pre-season it’s about how well the lads take on the information and if there are learning, which can set us in good stead for when the season starts,” he said.
And as the new Gloucestershire Northern Senior League season approaches, Deakin lined up his ambitions for his first stint as manager, looking to be competitive on all fronts.
“Dursley have competed and been in the top four of the Gloucestershire Northern Senior League for the past four of five years, so for me with this fresh group, the aim is to win as many games as possible.
“If we can look to push and contend, we’ll see how that pans out because there is a lot I need to learn and I may get things wrong at times.
“But the aim is to try and win as many games as possible, try and finish as high as possible and try and win a piece of silverware, whether that is the league or a cup would be great as well,” he said.
Dursley Town are back in pre-season action on Wednesday July 16th when they travel to Gloucestershire County League side, Frampton United.
