Hitchin Town Football Club
Founded 1865, Reformed 1928
It's a great relief, says Hay
Sunday, April 20 2008
Darran Hay paid tribute to his players and the Hitchin crowd in the aftermath of the club's successful escape from relegation.
"It's a great relief," he said. "At one stage, it looked as though we were down, but we stuck with it, turned the team over and it paid off. It has been exhausting but our players have been outstanding, I cannot fault their attitude, their team spirit or their hard work. We've had a mountain to climb, but we have finally done it."
Hay felt the win against Bashley was the decisive result, given the fixtures remaining among the other strugglers. "We clinched it last week, but it would have been nice to win against Merthyr. But we have no complaints about the result."
Hay's team have turned in some impressive performances in recent weeks and had lost once in 10 games before the Merthyr game. "We've played some good stuff and the crowd have really appreciated what we have been trying to do. And I believe we can take it forward from here."
Local man Hay has been moved by the support he has received from the Hitchin public. "They have been tremendous, really getting behind us at home games. The atmosphere in games such as Kings Lynn, Bedford and Bashley really helped lift the players."