THE FINAL RUN-IN – RUBEN LAWAL DISCUSSES THE SEASON AND CENTRAL’S HOPES FOR PROMOTION

“I think our team will be able to clinch promotion”, said Central forward Ruben Lawal when we caught up with him ahead of a critical end to the season for the club, which could potentially see Manchester Central promoted to Division One of the Manchester Football League.

This mindset spoke volumes about the team’s mentality at this stage in the season, confident that they can reach the promotion places, with just three games to go in the league campaign.

Nobody expected Central to be in this position at this stage, particularly following their poor start to the season. Lawal described the team’s beginning to the season as “up and down” but mentioned how the team managed to stick together and grow as the year went on.

“The team has come a long way as a collective”, Lawal said. “As the season went on, we started to pick up the pace”, with Central winning six out of their nine league fixtures in 2022.

Lawal also told us how the team chemistry and camaraderie has helped shape Central’s second half of the season, mentioning that “training is important for us as it helps the team chemistry and morale”, also discussing how it helps the team stay sharp and ready.

“It help’s everyone fight for our places and prove to the coach that we want to be picked week in week out.” Which speaks to how many options manager Chris Tomkinson has had since the turn of the new year, with all players staying sharp and focused, even when they are not selected in the starting line-up each week.

The forward described what his experience has been like with Central, and how that has helped his game mature, saying “as a player, being at Central has taught me that I have to make sacrifices to my own game.”

Lawal has perhaps been under the radar this season, chipping in with a respectable 8 goals in 15 starts, displaying that he doesn’t necessarily want to be the star of the show, and that “its a team sport and that team comes first no matter what.”

Speaking with Lawal, we discussed with him how he and the team feel ahead of the final games of the season, saying “I think with the squad we have, promotion shouldn’t be a problem, as long as we turn up as a team, play as a team and win as a team.”

Clearly confident of the final run-in, Lawal said “when we get that promotion, I think it will be seen as a huge comeback for us”, especially considering the team only managed to win 7 out of their first 14 games of the season.

“Promotion is not where it ends. I think next season we should be aiming for that title as we are more than capable, however, I want to focus on the last few games as that promotion spot is all we want. It will be a great achievement for the team.”

Manchester Central will look to bounce back from their cup defeat to Altrincham Hale on Tuesday, when they welcome struggling side Cavaliers to Wright Robinson, in which the team will view this as the first of three cup finals, where they cannot afford to slip up.