Wingate & Finchley boss Knight knows bumping attendances up could be a huge boost
Wingate & Finchley manager Spencer Knight (Pic: Martin Addison) - Credit: Archant
Wingate & Finchley manager Spencer Knight knows bumping their attendance up could be a huge boost to the club and is hoping a Sunday fixture can start that process.
The Blues welcome Bowers & Pitsea to Maurice Rebak Stadium on Sunday for a 3pm kick-off to start the new Isthmian League Premier Division season.
Knight also believes not playing on the opening day gives himself and staff members a chance to scout other teams in the division.
“It’s one of those things over the course of the summer, myself and the board have spoken about how can we try to increase our attendance. In terms of playing style we want to play attractive football to get people through the gate,” Knight said.
“Even an extra 50 people on our gate would make such a difference to the whole football club, so historically we’re not that well supported, but hopefully we can push that on and if we can start with a result on Sunday we might be able to keep some of them coming back.
“We play Sunday which I think is good as we’ll get an opportunity to see how everyone has got on Saturday. I’ll watch a game, and the rest of the staff will try getting some scouting done, which is a bonus for us.”
Bowers & Pitsea have been busy this summer rebuilding their squad with the addition of players like George Purcell, Chinedu McKenzie, Alex Bentley and Lamar Johnson.
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Knight added: “They’ve made some impressive signings, obviously they must have spent a few quid in the summer and got in some good players.
“We had them watched on Saturday in the FA Cup and they were really impressive in their win, so we’re under no illusions we’re in for a tough game. We know how they set up and we’ll try to counter that.”
The Blues boss revealed it was a longer pre-season due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, but hopes that works in their favour.
“I probably had three more game than I normally would have had, which has allowed us to look at more players than again in a normal season,” he said. “And it felt like we had loads of trialists wanting to come, so I tried to be as fair as I could and look at as many as possible.
“We wanted to pick up one or two gems, which hopefully we have, and that’s what you’re trying to do.”
