One of best moments of my career says Wingate boss Norman

The Blues managed to avoid relegation with a 4-2 win at home to Burgess Hill Town

Wingate & Finchley boss Dave Norman hailed his side’s dramatic relegation survival on the final day of the Bostik Premier season.

The Blues’ 4-2 win over Burgess Hill Town – during which Wingate were only 10 minutes from the drop – was ranked by Norman as one of the proudest achievements in his career.

And that coming from a manager who as a player “won every trophy possible in non-league football”.

Norman said: “I was more nervous for this than I’ve ever been. We were checking the Whitehawk score but knew it was in our hands.

“This win is absolutely huge for the club. It means everything because it’s survival at this level.

“It’s an incredible achievement from everyone involved because we’re a community club and we can’t compete budget-wise compared to other sides in the league.

“It’s been 12 weeks of really hard work and now we’ve got a platform to get a good pre-season and really build for next year.

“There’s a lot of ability in this side and things are looking very positive ahead of next year.”

As for his own future at the club – Norman has juggled managerial duties at Summers Lane alongside his director of sport post at Rhyl FC – the Blues’ boss was unsure.

He said: “It’s something I need to discuss with the chairman (Aron Sharpe). Commuting from North Wales has been very difficult but also thoroughly enjoyable.

“When I had the initial phone call from the chairman asking if I could support in the interim I didn’t think it was going to last 12 weeks.

“I was thinking it would be only three or four weeks while they looked for a manager. But things changed and I’m so pleased we’ve all turned it around together.

“My remit was to get the club out of a relegation battle and stay in the Bostik Premier – we’ve managed to do just that.”