Our return to the top flight of Welsh football was confirmed in the previous campaign as the Reds were crowned 24/25 JD Cymru South Champions. 

Having had time to reflect on the season as a whole, we spent time with manager Lee John to gather some of his thoughts on the previous campaign;

“A few stand out points were patience, discipline and the depth in the quality of the squad. 

We started the season playing some excellent football, especially at home, but the results were disappointing as there were too many draws. It was so important to have the faith of the board and the supporters during this difficult period as it gave us the confidence we needed.

Discipline nearly cost us dearly as we had too many red cards, luckily we were still able to hold on to some positive results despite losing key players during games. Next season we will need to improve in this area or we could be punished. 

For me the depth of the squad was the main reason for our success. We lost some key players through the season at important times for long periods but the players dealt with it and adapted brilliantly.“

The Reds went undefeated away from home, a stat that is some feat in itself. Alongside our success in the league, the Reds made it to the final four of the JD Welsh Cup – a campaign which saw us face a number of Cymru Premier sides throughout.

Discussing the run in the cup, Lee highlights the semi final against Connah’s Quay Nomads in particular, he said;

“The players were excellent throughout the competition, but it still feels like a huge opportunity missed. We had key players missing for the game, Sean Cronin, James Parry, Camillo Strinati all unavailable or injured and we even lost Ethan Cann during the game who was causing the Nomads numerous problems.

There’s no doubt I made mistakes at half time with changing the formation but after they (CQN) took the lead I thought we did enough to take the game to a penalty shoot out.”

Following the conclusion of the season, the club have announced a number of departures from the squad, however we have also added our first addition of the summer in Tristan Jenkins.

As you will have seen across club social channels, a strong core of our first team squad from last season have all agreed to extensions with the Reds.

When asked about his feelings on the squad ahead of a busy summer period, Lee John said;

“Very excited, yes we’ve lost some players who did very well for us last season but we won’t dwell on that. The players departing all played important roles at the club and we are very thankful for their efforts and contributions. 

I’ve had numerous conversations with the current squad and potential targets and I’m sure the supporters will be very optimistic when they see who’s committed to joining the club next season. 

Tristan has been a target of mine for about 5 years, I’ve tried signing him since I was at Goytre United, he’s a very talented attacking player with big potential and the Cymru Premier is a new challenge. With hard work and determination I know he can thrive and score goals for his home town club in the top flight.”

The Cymru Premier is a massive step forward for the club and poses a number of new challenges both on and off the pitch.

Speaking about the step up to the top flight, Lee John explained his feelings ahead of the campaign, saying;

“There’s an excitement to show the Cymru Premier what we are about as a team and a club, we know it’ll be tough as we’ll be underdogs in the majority of the games, but we need to show resilience and a strong mentality through these periods. We have a great opportunity and we need to embrace it.”

Penultimately, we asked the gaffer about targets and goals for the squad ahead of our first season back in the Cymru Premier, Lee John stated;

“No doubt the main aim is to stay in the league next season and maintain Cymru Premier status when the competition moves into the new format in 2026/27. If we could do that and add another good run in the Welsh cup that would be ideal.”

Finally, Lee John provided a message to you, our supporters ahead of the new season;

“Be patient, be positive and especially look forward to the South Wales matches. I think we all understand the magnitude of the task at hand but this is what we’ve all been working so hard to achieve over a number of years. The whole squad is excited at the prospect of playing established teams like TNS, Penybont and Haverfordwest on a regular basis. The club has a long term objective and this is just the start of the journey.“