Ribblesdale League: We're down but not depressed, says Gillibrand (22 Aug 1998)

22 August 1998

We're down but not depressed, says Gillibrand

The Lancashire Evening Telegraph

YOU might expect to find Blackburn Northern skipper Mel Gillibrand lying on a couch in a darkened room taking anti-depressants.

But you won't.

For, despite the fact that rock-bottom Northern are 22 points adrift of the next club, have no professional and face double-holders Cherry Tree in the Pleckgate derby tomorrow, Mel prefers the adjective realistic to depressed.

Looking in from the outside it seems to have been a tortuous summer for Northern in the Vaux Ribblesdale League and they don't really expect it to get any better.

But Gillibrand insists it has not been THAT bad and he expects the club to enjoy some long-term benefits - maybe even one or two short-term gains.

"We are not depressed, I would say everybody here is realistic," he said.

"The players appreciate that we are going to finish bottom but, in a way, that takes the pressure off us in the remaining games. "Opposing teams are expected to beat us. We are bottom, we have no professional and they assume they are going to win.

"So if we suddenly start to do something in a game, the pressure is all on them. There have been six or seven games where, if we had made around another 30 runs, we could have won.

"We keep being beaten by sides who have eight men down, or we run out of overs.

"When you look at the opposition, I don't think there is too much difference in the amateurs. But our pro didn't perform."

That was Ryan Maron, who has now left the club, and the focus has switched to some of the up-and-coming talent which could herald a brighter future at Pleckgate.

This weekend three starlets, Nick Knight, Darren Walton and James Watson, were all involved with the first team, yet still have another year to go with the under-18 side.

"Hopefully next season should see a big turnaround and we can at least use the rest of the games to give lads like these a bit more experience," added the skipper.

Tomorrow's games (1.30pm start): Baxenden v Edenfield; Blackburn N v Cherry Tree; Clitheroe v Ribblesdale W; Earby v Barnoldswick; Gt Harwood v Oswaldtwistle Imm; Read v Padiham; Settle v Whalley.

Source :: Lancashire Evening Telegraph (https://www.reednews.co.uk/let/)