The Friday Feature: The Spennymoor Town Story

Located in the heart of County Durham, the local residents of the sleepy town of Spennymoor certainly have a football club to make plenty of noise about.

The FA Vase champions of 2013 rightly considered their day at Wembley the biggest moment in Spennymoor Town’s history. Little did they know the journey they were about to embark on up the football pyramid.

After three promotions in the past four seasons, Spennymoor Town sit comfortably in the play-off places in the Vanarama National League North; the highest position in the club’s history.

Jason Ainsley’s affiliation with the Moors began almost thirty years ago, with the last decade coming at the Brewery Field helm.

While Spennymoor’s rapid rise hasn’t been without it’s occasional challenges, one thing the Manager hasn’t had to manage is unrealistic expectations, particularly from the supporters.

The famous football chant “We are staying up” rang out from behind the goal as the Moors recorded their tenth league victory of the season by mid-November.

“A lot of the fans we’ve got now have only seen success,” Ainsley explained.

“There’s been so many die-hards during my 28 on and off years with the club, who have seen some real tough times.

“When you’re winning games, winning trophies and league titles it becomes the expectation of many.

“Hopefully we’re giving something back, because the people of Spennymoor are witnessing a fantastic football side at the moment”.

With every new challenge they face in their first season in the sixth tier, Ainsley’s men seem to thrive.

An opening day match with former Football League Stockport County ended with victory. A gruelling 12 matches in the August and September resulted in an impressive return of 21 points.

“When you speak to the Chairman, these aren’t scalps anymore. He wants to win every game!

“This is a league we want to be in.

“Now we’ve had a taste of this level- and it’s been a rollercoaster since we played Stockport County on the first day of the season- we want to make sure we’re in this league next year”.

This success has come without the need for a huge overhaul on the field. A core of players has played a key role during the rise through the leagues.

Of the matchday 16 for the Play-Off Final victory over Stourbridge in April, 10 were involved in last weekend’s match.

Glen Taylor- a self-proclaimed “big, daft lad”- arrived at the club from Ashington, a mid-table Step 5 club, in 2015.

It’s a step up the striker has taken in his stride, finding the net ten times already this campaign.

While in reflective mood, the 27-year-old discussed the reasons behind the recent success of Spennymoor Town, but also considered just how far the story can go.

He said: “We’ve always had good players at the club. The Manager keeps building on the side he has and we’re constantly improving.

“The system we play really suits us and we’re a threat to every team we come up against.

“No matter where you are in football, you always have an eye on what goes on in the division above.

“It would be a tough transition to make- if we were to get promoted- but I don’t think anyone who has watched Spennymoor Town in the past few years would back against our lads doing it.”

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