Major change 'on the table', reveals Brackley Town chairman Matt Wise

The recent relegation from the National League back down to the National League North exposed the Saints’ frailities in their current state as they fell behind rivals of a full-time nature.

From having fewer training sessions per week to less contact time with the manager and being unable to attract players wanting professional contracts, Brackley were at a disadvantage from the offset.

Former Brackley captain Gareth Dean, who recently stepped into a player recruitment role after hanging up his boots, has already revealed he hopes the Saints can go full-time one day.

But how realistic is that prospect? And how soon could it happen?

“It’s a discussion point that’s on the table at this present time,” Wise admitted during the latest episode of ‘Inside Brackley’.

“I felt that last season, one of the reasons that maybe we didn’t retain our status in the National League was because we were a part-time club.

“I felt that the last third of the season, the full-time clubs have a little more in the tank than us.

“So, it would certainly be very high on the agenda if we were to get promoted again. But obviously we’ve got to get ourselves in that position.”

On Brackley’s current standing, Wise added: “It’s slightly different in the National League North because the majority of clubs are part-time.

“It was difficult last season to try and transition to full-time because our player base was mainly part-time players who didn’t want to be full-time players.

“With that in mind, you can’t then go to a full-time club because most of your players would leave.

“It was difficult last season, but if we were to be in a position to get promoted again, we would definitely have to consider it.”

As much as Brackley would love to change their status at the flick of a switch, it’s not as simple as that. There are a whole host of logistical issues.

On whether going full-time is even possible in the National League North, Wise explained: “Never say never, it’s something on the table, but there’s a lot behind it.

“There’s all the sort of welfare stuff that goes with it, you’ve got to provide breakfast, you’ve got to provide dinner, you’ve got to provide training kit every day of the week.

“You’ve also got to wash that training kit, you need a full-size pitch to train on. We’ve only got one at the club and a three-quarter-sized artificial pitch.

“We’d need to find somewhere to train with those facilities so we can actually deliver what we need to deliver.”

Saints fans must watch this space, then, but it doesn’t seem like there will be a transition this coming season – unless promotion is looking imminent towards the end.

The most reasonable point in time would be in a summer before a new campaign begins, ideally ahead of a return to the fifth tier. As Wise hints, never say never.