Shane Sutton feels stronger for AFC Telford experience
Shane Sutton says he has become a lot stronger, physically and mentally, following AFC Telford’s successful survival fight.
The skipper, who has stated his intention to stay with the Bucks, learned a lot in his first season in National league North.
He previously spent nine years with Welsh Premier side Newtown.
On the difference between the Welsh top flight and the sixth tier of English football, Sutton said: “In the Welsh Premier, there’s not always many people watching and it’s a lot less physical.
“When I was at Newtown, I was only about 13 stone. But I’ve put more weight on since I’ve been here as the league is very physical,
“Since about Christmas, the draw with Brackley Town just before Christmas sticks in my head, I’ve been doing a lot more work in the gym and I feel it has paid off.
“I’ve learned a lot about the league – I’m just a bit gutted the season ended when it did, really, as we had some good momentum.”
Telford, for a while, seemed serious contenders to go down. A run of five wins from eight games, though, saw them secure safety.
Reflecting on staying up, Sutton added: “It was a bit of a mad season.
“Up until Christmas, we were struggling a bit. We had no settled team, no settled formation.
“We got a few more lads in – Dom Smith, Ellis Deeney, Amari Morgan-Smith – later on and it seemed a lot better then.
“We played the top six all in a row in January and got two points, and that’s why we dropped down the table.
“There were times when a few fans probably thought we were not going to get out of it.
“We all just stuck together and kept our confidence up as we knew we were good enough to stay up, and we showed that in the end.”
