March Town finish bottom of the table but Blanchflower says club’s young players are cause for optimism

March Town United manager Paul Blanchflower says he is optimistic about the future despite his side’s bottom of the table finish.

The Hares finished at the foot of the Thurlow Nunn First Division after losing 2-1 at home to Long Melford.

This season’s top scorer Sean White was on target, bagging his 9th goal of the campaign.

Blanchflower, who replaced Paul Crosbie in charge in February, has made a conscious effort to blood youngsters and he is excited by their potential.

He said: “I’m a firm believer in giving youth a chance. The likes of Toby Ayres have come in and played with no fear what so ever.

“I believe all the youngsters we’ve tried this year have the potential to be first team players.”

The Hares lost 26 out of their 36 league games, finishing on 18 points - their last win was against Downham Town in December.

There were encouraging performances, like the 2-2 draw against Halstead Town last month, but a lack of goals (31 scored) and a leaky defence (93 conceded) meant March had to endure its fair share of hammerings.

Blanchflower said: “I’ve enjoyed being manager a lot, but it has been a learning curve.

“The style of football you have to play to compete is not what I like to watch but if you don’t do it you find yourself on the back foot quite quickly.”

Blanchflower has been asked to stay on by the March board but he says, while he would like the job, he needs a bit of time to decide whether he can fully commit to it.

He said: “They’ve spoken to me and expressed the fact they’d like me to stay on but they understand I need to think about it.

“I would like the job but it’s a big commitment. Pre-season begins at the end of June and there are a lot of mid week games at the start of the season.

“We need to make sure things are right both for the club and me.”