Scunthorpe United’s season ended in disappointment, with the club being relegated from the National League into the National League North. But, with Jimmy Dean and Michael Nelson at the helm and recruitment underway early, the signs were good.
And, even though Nelson has since departed, the amount of business completed already could be key in securing promotion back to the National League and getting Scunthorpe United moving in the right direction once again.
Scunthorpe United is a name that many associate with English football and playing in the English Football League. Most Saturdays, football fans would be used to seeing Scunthorpe United listed as part of League One match betting, for example, but now the club finds itself in the sixth tier. The aim now is to arrest the slide and begin moving back up the leagues, even if it has to be done slowly but surely.
Of course, Michael Nelson departing recently after it looked likely he would help lead the team in the 2023/24 campaign is a blow, but a lot of work has already been done to secure the arrival of no fewer than ten new players. And, to balance that off, there have so far been ten departures from the club, which shows there’s a determination to do things properly and run a tight ship, which is going to be crucial if Scunthorpe are to get back on track.
A closer look at the business done in terms of new arrivals at Glanford Park shows a lot of thought has gone into each deal. Six of the ten new faces were with National League clubs last term, which is where Scunthorpe hope to be playing next season. And two were plying their trade in National League North, and their experience could prove invaluable this season as the club and team adjust to playing in the sixth tier, especially as one of the favourites to gain automatic promotion.
The players who will arrive in due course are varied in terms of their age profiles too. Four new arrivals are aged twenty-five and under, and the rest, bar one, are under thirty. So, Scunthorpe will head into the new campaign with plenty of experience, energy, and legs while having a couple of older heads to keep everyone in check and to use their know-how to good effect. Sometimes, on the recruitment front, it’s more about the bigger picture and how things look when the bulk of the work has been completed.
Time will tell in terms of how good Scunthorpe’s recruitment work has been this summer. And it will only tell when the 2023/24 National League North campaign ends. The aim is to bounce back immediately and return to the National League before plotting a return to the Football League. The new arrivals should help, and there may be more to come, but it could take a greater effort in general, as this is a team that only won eight league games last term.