Brighouse Town Echo Sport

As pre-season training got underway last Saturday for Brighouse Town’s playing staff, there was a familiar face back in the fold to take on the hard session management team of Grant Black and Mick Norbury were set to put the players through.

Strong and assertive centre-back Jorge Sikora, 22, was a surprise addition after saying only in the lead-up week he was not for coming back if Town were once more possibly looking down the barrels of another relegation season.

However, he had given his manager a telephone call to say he was impressed with who he had signed and who had been retained and had decided, if still wanted, to resume with Town for the 2024-25 season in the Pitching-In NPL East Division season.

Black assured him he was more than welcome to come back and fight for a place in what is looking to be a strong squad already.

Sikora from Harrogate has already seen plenty of action with Bradford City’s academy, loan spells with Ossett United and Spennymoor Town and with full registrations at the likes of Step 3 clubs Guiseley and FC United of Manchester and former club Marske United who then manager Graham Lee, now at Spennymoor, loaned him to Town before calling him back ahead of them going bust in mid-season.

Town now have Sikora joining the likes once more of central defenders Josh Dacre, Matty Nebard and Jamie Allsop, who is also a playing member of the Great Britain Police team and West Yorkshire Police side.

Update from Vice Chairman and Director of Football Charlie Tolley

The reign of Grant Black and Mick Norbury started in earnest on Saturday when most of the newly assembled squad attended the first pre-season training session. However, the hard work for Grant and Mick had started much earlier immediately after their appointment was announced, with phone calls, face to face meetings and extensive negotiations in targeting the existing squad and new targets for the forthcoming season. The result of all that hard work was apparent on Saturday.

The first get together produced a fantastic turn out of existing and new faces and a committed and thoroughly challenging session. The respect both Grant and Mick are held in was clear immediately from the whole of the new squad. Expectations relating to hard work, commitment and teamwork are always expected but the immediate buy in from all to what they expect from the squad and the demands for a unity that will lead to success were also clearly apparent.

The session was hard and more will be expected on Tuesday and Thursday evenings as the preparations for the new season continues. Grant was clear that every shirt is up for grabs and the efforts and results achieved in pre-season will determine who deserves to make the starting line up in early August. Although at the immediate end of the session there were grimaces on a lot of the squads faces these soon all turned to smiles when they appreciated what they had achieved and who they had achieved it with. This all points well to a great squad spirit and desire to succeed. More new faces are expected to come into the squad to challenge for those places and on the evidence of Saturday we will be looking upwards towards the top of the table rather than down.

In Grant and Mick, we have acquired a management team who have achieved success wherever they have been, and we have no doubt that they see Brighouse Town as another opportunity to do the same. Onwards and upwards. Charlie Tolley.

Update from First Team Manager Grant Black

As we arrived Saturday at the Heffernan Utilities Stadium to torrential rain it didn’t have a usual feel of pre season with the normal early summer blazing sunshine, something  the lads appreciated as we got into the hard work 

We had a good chat with all the players before we started, setting out our expectations from them from the first day of our management. The players all took that on board and produced a  fantastic session, one in which they looked in great physical shape and completed everything  asked of them to a great standard 

We emphasised we would make a snap decision on anyone who dropped out of any running which we feel would show us a weak mentality. 

Not one player dropped out and it was great to see players pushing themselves and each other to get over the line 

A session like that, as I said to the players after, can quickly build a bond when you look at the player next to you and he’s willing to not let you down in pre-season, then he is someone you can trust throughout the season 

A very positive start and with some players still away, and will have to earn that session from the ones who were there which will build competition. 

All in all a very good start.

Update on Pitch Extension

With  the extension to the pitch it means the floodlights are not near the corners of the new pitch markings and it means phase two will see new lighting on the pylons and to also meet the Lux requirement.

Kevin Allsop, father of the club’s defender Jamie Allsop, and managing director of Wakefield company Living Smarter Limited, trading as Eco Energy Saving Solutions, has been on site to work out with his electrical engineers what was needed. This, and the cost of it, has been given to the club and with the lights in stock, it is hoped they can commence work next week and complete before the end of June.

There had been fears that the project could be a timely affair and that was why all pre-season friendlies for July had been fixed up away from home and a pitch-hiring contract sorted with Pontefract Collieries for a league or cup game had it not been ready intime, but now by mid-July the pitch could well be playable.  

Project manager Ray McLaughlin said he was delighted with the progress and with the rainy weather over the past weekend the turf was already bedding in and also pleased Kevin Allsop , had sorted the new lighting.

“Its really coming together on and off the pitch and with new additional major sponsors in the pipeline its certainly given everyone at the club a major boost, added McLaughlin.

Town have also learned in the past few days that the early rounds of the FA Cup and the FA Trophy will be made in the first week of July and so they will then know if their temporary relegation  has cost them by having to play an extra-preliminary round tie of the two major national competitiAny….ons in question.

Manager Black is not bothered and neither are the committee or supporters. They are all just craving action in the cup and league.