Meakin not setting any targets on his Saints return
Upton-winning head coach Leon Meakin is back in the hotseat at Blanche Pierre Lane 13 months after stepping down from the role.
He takes over from outgoing boss Ed Adams and will be assisted in the dugout by Ben Hunter.
Meakin won the Priaulx League with St Martin’s three times from 2019 to 2022, and completed a full season unbeaten in the league in the 2021-22 season, where they also won the Upton Cup and the Wheway in Jersey.
‘I’m delighted to be back – I have had a good break and I think the time is right to step back in,’ said Meakin.
‘I have missed football a lot, and it’s quite fortunate that the Saints job was available, which is something I did not expect after they made new appointments in the summer.
‘Once Ed had stepped away the club contacted me to see if I would be interested, and since they have not had a game in a while I had some time to think and decided it was right for me.’
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St Martin’s currently sit second in the Priaulx League table and have picked up four wins from their first five games this season.
‘I do not want to put a target on this year yet, other than being competitive in every game and finishing as high as possible,’ said the returning coach at the start of the week.
‘We have not trained yet so I do not know exactly where the group is at, but I am really looking forward to it and we want to be ambitious.
‘The squad is in transition a little bit and we do have quite a few absences due to injury and people being away travelling, but there are also a lot of very good players at our disposal.
‘Most of this squad know me already and know what to expect, and I know what I can expect from them.
‘I also watched the game against Rovers a few weeks ago, and I was impressed.
‘They worked very hard, there were flashes of quality, they defended well and scored a great goal to win the game.’
Meakin’s first game back in charge – weather permitting – is a big one as Saints visit Northfield tonight (7.30pm kick off) to take on the chocolate-and-blues, who would regain second place in the league if they were to win.
FNB Priaulx League fixtures
(Subject to change)
Today
Northerners v St Martin’s, Northfield, 7.30pm.
Tomorrow
Alderney v Belgrave Wanderers, Mount Hale, 1pm
Rovers v Sylvans, KGV, 12.30pm (moved from Port Soif 2pm)
Rangers v Vale Rec, KGV, 3pm (pushed back from 2pm)
