Andrew Warshaw speaks to boss Gavin Macpherson after the pre-season bombshell of star striker’s departure

It’s unchartered territory and the opening fixture could not be any tougher – but Enfield Town manager Gavin Macpherson can’t wait to get started.

The Towners make their National League South debut, following promotion via the playoffs from the Isthmian Premier Division last May, with a trip to Torquay United on Saturday, 10^th August – an illustration, if one were needed, of how they have entered a new world at step two of the non-league pyramid.

“We have to go there some time so why not in summer,” Macpherson told the Dispatch as he looked forward to a baptism that also includes an even further trip at the end of the month, to Truro in Cornwall.

“Torquay are a full-time club and were recently in the Football League. But we won’t be frightened by it and will do our homework. Obviously we’re the new kids on the block, but to go there is something to massively look forward to in front of several thousand fans.

“It’s obviously going to be a tough season, because we’re stepping into a different bracket of football, but that’s what we all strove to do. It’s a yardstick of how far we’ve come in a very short space of time.”

Town’s preparations have not been helped by the transfer last month of prized asset Marcus Wyllie – the Isthmian League’s top scorer last season – to Gillingham of League Two. It marked the first time the club had received a fee for a player, but replacing Wyllie’s 30 goals (31 if you include the playoffs) is a tall order.

Ironically it was Gavin, when he arrived at the club, who gave Wyllie his break, immediately identifying him as a centre forward after the previous regime either played him out of position, didn’t start him at all, or sent him out on loan.

Gavin is rightly proud of the fact that he and his management team developed Wyllie to the extent that after just a year, he went from step five of non-league to the Football League. “We all wish Marcus well for fulfilling his dream to be a professional player,” says Gavin, “but it kind of came out of the blue and is the hardest possible position to fill at the worst possible time.”

The manager and his team were still scouring the market for a suitable replacement at time of going to press.

“When you’re a relatively small fish in a very, very big pond, you don’t perhaps have as much clout as others. It’s made my job a lot harder because we were planning on Marcus being our focal point, so it changes everything.

“But this football club is making history. It’s got promoted to a level it’s never been at and has just sold its first footballer. To me that means, on and off the field, we are going in a very healthy direction.”

In the meantime, the squad has been strengthened elsewhere. with several key additions in most areas of the pitch and almost all having experience of step two or higher. It promises to be an intriguing campaign, but woe betide anyone who suggests to Gavin and his management team that survival alone is the goal.

“That’s simply not my mindset, never has been,” he retorts, despite himself never having managed in National League South. He is setting his sights on a top-half finish, while acknowledging that consolidation would be regarded as a successful campaign.

“A lot of the teams in the division are full-time, or almost, and I am under no illusions how difficult this is going to be. Although you respect them and how good some of them are, this is where we want to be. We have to embrace the challenge and try to finish as high as we can.”

In terms of stadium improvements, to comply with the higher standards required by the National League, the club is planning to build a new 400-seater stand, opposite the main existing one. There will also be three new turnstiles – two at the far end of the ground and one where the existing turnstiles are – as well as further improvements. All the ground development work must be completed by 31^st March in order to meet league rules.

Helping to finance the cost of the works, sponsorship levels are already considerably greater than last season, while membership and season tickets are also up. “Without the support throughout last season I’m not sure we’d be where we are today,” admits Gavin.

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