Paul Holleran sat down with local media on Thursday night to discuss Leamington's opening home game of the National League North season, after his side won promotion back to step two last season.
Looking ahead to Saturday, he said "The build up to the season has been fantastic, the hype around the National League - the quality of the league, the teams, the people. We know there’s a lot of hard work, it’s a really hard home opener against the form team if you take the final third of last season into account. They’ve still got the same old faces, Glen Taylor, (Rob) Ramshaw and others and they’re a really good club - Jason (Ainsley, former manager) is still involved there and we’ve had some tough games against them, some good days against them.
“They’re a top football club and we know it’s going to be hard on Saturday but we also know that if we’re to achieve anything this year then we’ve got to make sure we’re picking points up at home."
Holleran's side lost their opening game of the season away at full time outfit Buxton, but the hosts needed some fortune to beat part time Leamington with a hand being used in the direct buildup to the winning goal in the 95th minute.
Holleran added “The disappointment of how we managed the last few minutes at Buxton. We’ve all had a look back at it and listen, there was a few key points going into the final five minutes - the decision not to give Dan (Meredith) a penalty was very harsh, but the way we’ve managed the last minute of the game when we’ve got the ball deep in their half could be better but then listen, what you do expect in the National League is officials making correct decisions. There are some that you can sympathise with that the human eye wouldn’t see but if you’re not seeing handballs leading up to goals, you shouldn’t be reffing especially in the National League - it’s as simple as that.
“It was a harsh lesson for us but it’s good to learn those lessons early on in the season and it doesn’t take away from the positives in the game but we also know that in this division, if you’re sloppy you will get punished but as for Saturday - looking forward to getting a National League game back down here and everything that comes with National League football.”
The manager missed Saturday's game. Shortly after the 2023/24 season finished, he was treated for prostate cancer and while recovery has been largely going well, there are a few hiccups and one Friday night caused the much-loved gaffer to miss the season opener.
“My recovery (from prostate cancer) has gone really well," Holleran updated. "I haven’t got a problem with the removal of my prostate but where I’ve had a problem is with catheters. They’re what’s caused me a bit of grief. I was in fine form all week, taking training on Tuesday and Thursday and was looking forward to the game but sadly my water wasn’t passing Friday night and Saturday morning and sadly that’s a big red flag.
“I went in hospital early Saturday morning trying to get it sorted but sadly they made a mistake that caused me more problems so it turned out difficult and I was in there 11 hours. I’m not sure what upset me the most - the 95th minute goal or the staff nurse, but I’m a lot better now - I’ve had a few days to get over it.
“I can’t thank everyone enough who’s messaged and sent on their thanks. My recovery has gone really well but the only thing that’s hampered me is not being able to get rid of the catheter and when we have got rid of it, we’ve had a problem. I’m in good form now and looking forward to getting back on the touchline Saturday.”
Saturday's game gives Leamington fans the opportunity to watch their side play a National League North game at home for the first time in over a year, and speaking about the fans Holleran said “I think we picked up a few new fans last season, on the pitch and off the pitch we fought and scrapped - we looked out of the play off race at times but we all pulled together, players and fans, and went again. That’s the spirit of Leamington.
“In the end we ended up having some wonderful days that we all enjoyed together. The run in, the last 5-6 home games, playoffs, Leiston away where we outnumbered the home support - you want to see more days like that this season with a big coach load coming. It was unbelievable really, and like having that twelfth man.
“It’ll be different this year but you’ll see bigger games, better quality and last year we got used to winning lots of games away - the nature of the beast is that when we’re playing teams in this league we’ll have some tough days. We’ll also have some good days and they’re really enjoyable then. On the pitch and off the pitch we need to enjoy being a step two side again, but we also need to be competitive. Most of the time in the past we have been competitive.
“Our recruitment has been young and there’s a reason for that, but we’re really looking forward to it. I think one of the reason the fans keep coming is because they see a Leamington team every week leaving everything out on the pitch, they’re a bunch of good, honest, hard working lads and the fans see that.
“I was a fan when I was younger watching Blues (Birmingham City), I remember watching Steve Claridge. I used to come away - we didn’t win many games - but I always used to walk away going ‘look at the effort he’s putting in’ and we’ve got boys that have those ingredients and when fans see that, it makes them proud to support Leamington and they’ll always stick with you. When supporters get a hint that players aren’t doing what they can control - the running stats, effort and commitment - they’ll rightfully give them a hard time but our lads don’t do that. Same again, we’ll enjoy the journey and hopefully have something to cheer about.”
Kick off at Your Co-op Community Stadium on Saturday is 3pm, and tickets can be purchased online or on the gate.
