INTERVIEW | Bay FC boss Damien Bellew: 'The ultimate goal is to get to the Prem and to be competing at that high level'

Bay FC’s chief aim is to reach the NEFL Premier Division, according to manager Damien Bellew, and they’re certainly going the right way about getting there.

The Rock Rock men sit top of Division One with an unbeaten record of eight wins and two draws, a run which has installed them among the title front- runners.

Last Thursday night week’s Tully Cup encounter against top-flight Square United was “a good test”, says Bellew, who has guided the club to three promotions in four years, all the way from Division Four.

“The ultimate goal is to get to the Prem and to be competing at that high level,” Bellew tells The Democrat.

“Division One, it’s a really tough league to get out of; it’s like the Championship in England. But I’m delighted with how we’ve started, we’ve got some great results, and, looking at it now at the halfway mark, I think if we didn’t get promoted in some description I’d probably be disappointed; whether that’s finishing second or going up through the play-off.

“It’s a little bit too early to be talking about titles - Carrick are level with us and there are a couple of teams in or around us. Even the likes of Albion, they’re three games behind us, but if they win them they’re up there as well.

“It’s been a great start and we’re not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, but morale is high with the lads. They’re all enjoying the football and delighted with how we’ve started.”

Croatian Luka Brlenic was among Bellew’s pre-season recruits, following last winter’s Division Two title-winning campaign, which came in the aftermath of a runners’-up berth in Division Three the season previously.

Last year, it was Shaun O’Connor and Pairic Browne who added that little bit extra, having come in from Quay Celtic’s now defunct NEFL team, while Paddy Connor was the key signing that helped inspire promotion from Division Three.

Indeed, that ability to add something extra on an annual basis has been crucial, the manager insists. It keeps standards rising, while ensuring those who remain find an additional level for fear of losing their place.

“It’s been about recruiting lads over the years to improve the team. The more you’re winning the more you’re keeping people interested.

“There’s been a few players there that have come in and are probably of a higher quality. Paddy Connor came in in 2017 having played for Rock Celtic and Albion. He dropped down a few divisions to join us. The likes of Shaun O’Connor and Pairic Browne come in from Quay.

“Getting players of that level who would have played Premier Division football and are known around town was a big boost, not just for their quality, but for the players we had there too. When lads think their places are under threat they play that little bit more, you get that extra 10 percent out of them.

“We’ve recruited well every year, two or three really good quality players, and it’s kicked on. Every year you do lose one or two so it’s important to then get the right players in to compete.”

There are difficulties involved in trying to maintain the juggernaut’s motion forward-moving, like the clash with GAA, something which clubs across Meath and Louth struggle with. In Bay’s case, they share players with Na Piarsaigh GFC, mainly, but it’s simply about adapting and building a squad which ensures the necessary quality on a match day - clearly that’s what Bellew and co have done.

While rating the final day of the 2017/18 Division Three campaign as his lowest point in football - their defeat to Newtown seeing them miss out on a golden chance at lifting the title, with Rathmullen, the eventual winners, having only drawn - it speaks volumes for Bay and their boss to have come back stronger.

Last season’s play-off win over Redeemer Celtic condemned that misery to the back of Bay’s minds. A similar outcome this time around would lodge it to the annals of history.

Next stop? Well, the only way is up.