THE 1874 NORTHWICH COLUMN - By Matt Waters

AFTER rejoining the club in 2018, Sam Hare has cemented himself as one of the most crucial members of the 1874 Northwich squad.

Over the last two years, Sam has been instrumental to our possession-based football, as an excellent passer of the ball who never stops running whether it’s going forward or helping our defence.

Reflecting on his time with the club so far, Sam says that it’s the support from the fans that sets apart 1874 from the rest of the North West Counties.

He said: “It’s great to play for a club whose fans outnumber the opposition wherever we go at our level.

“It does bring added pressure but as players we wouldn’t want it any other way. It really is a pleasure to represent 74!”

Hare, who has made over 100 appearances for 74, believes that the move to Barnton last summer has really helped motivate the players.

He said: “It’s great to see the club is always wanting to improve and kick on to the next level.

“The move to Barnton has helped attendances and the all-round match day experience so fingers crossed we can do our bit as players to reward the hardworking volunteers and paying supporters. That motivates us as players.”

After the unfortunate null and voiding of last season, Sam revealed that the goal once again is to take the club “up a level” and he wanted to reassure all the fans that they will be ready to do so when football returns.

He continued: “Personally I want to be a regular in the team again and add a few goals to my game.

“We have spoken collectively and we still think we can improve on last year and our aim has to be to move the club up a level.”

After leaving the club in the 2016/17 season, Sam said that as soon as he came back from travelling it was a “no brainer” to rejoin the club.

“While I was away travelling, the boys had the really good FA Vase run so I always kept in touch from down under and as soon as I was back ‘GOBO’ invited me back to training so it was a no brainer for me.

“I was keen to re-join Paul Bowyer and Wayne Goodison as I really enjoyed playing for them once they took over towards the end of my first spell.”

Finally, in a message to our supporters, Sam said: “Thank you for your support this season just gone, we all appreciate it.

“I hope everyone is keeping well and hopefully we can be back together sooner rather than later. We will be ready to go again whenever circumstances allow. COYG!”