Mike Gillick looks to the future at Shelford

Head coach pleased with rebuilding progress

Mike Gillick is confident that firm structures are beginning to be put in place to stand Shelford in good stead for the future.

Results in London & SE Premier have been patchy, with one of the biggest problems being stringing two impressive performances together in a row.

That was evident last week as after the 36-31 win over Sutton & Epsom, Shelford were brought back down to earth with a 31-5 defeat at Hertford, after Charlie Parkhouse had got the first try.

But Gillick, who became head coach in October, is confident they are on the right track.

“As I said at the start, it’s not going to be a quick fix, it could be a two or three-year process,” he said. “We’re creating a bit of depth and had an 18-year-old in Kieran Hatter making his first start (at Hertford).

“We want to build two teams that can compete with each other, and in the National League.

“I’m quite pleased with the progress we’re making, but the competitor in me wants it straight away.

“It’s the transition I have to make from player to coach. As a coach, you have to take yourself away from it a little bit. We’re building a club culture to create the links within the club.

“The bigger picture, taking a step back, looks quite promising. From an outsider’s point of view, if you were just looking at the results it would look like we’re struggling.

“But we’re very close to clicking and will blow someone away soon.”

And Gillick, who has numerous injuries to contend with in the squad, felt the final result last Saturday flattered Herford.

“Away at Herford we did really well and the scoreline doesn’t really reflect the game,” he said.

“We had the majority of possession in good areas but didn’t convert.

“The difference between the sides is they were a lot more clinical and took their chances.”