Tony Vance: Guernsey FC must get better to survive
- From the section Football
Guernsey FC manager Tony Vance says the team must improve or the club could face an uncertain future.
The Green Lions begin their fifth season in England on Saturday with a trip to Three Bridges in the Isthmian League Division One South.
"If we stagnate in the division it's a danger to the project, to the concept, to the whole idea," said Vance.
"Supporters might get bored, sponsors may not be so keen to be involved and it might be dangerous."
Guernsey won promotion in their first two seasons, winning the Combined Counties Division One in 2012 and then the coming second in the Premier Division, a season during which they also made the semi-finals of the FA Vase.
| Guernsey FC's previous seasons |
|---|
| 2014-15: 10th in Isthmian League Division One South |
| 2013-14: Fourth in Isthmian League Division One South, lost to Leatherhead in play-off semi-final |
| 2012-13: Second in Combined Counties Premier Division. Made FA Vase semi-final |
| 2011-12: Won Combined Counties Division One. Won Combined Counties Premier Challenge Cup |
The club reached the play-offs in their first season in the Isthmian league, but an injury-hit campaign last season saw them finish 10th.
"If you become a mid-table team year on year it becomes very boring," Vance told BBC Radio Guernsey.
"Fortunately we've got things like the FA Cup, which can excite people, and if you get a run there that can change perspectives.
"But we have to be challenging, we're good enough to be challenging.
"Last year, for many reasons, we didn't achieve what we should have done and we finished where we deserved to finish, so this year we've got to try and improve on that."