Jockeys ready to begin a third season at Step 4

Published: 05:00, 13 August 2026

Manager Michael Shinn has called on his Newmarket Town side to ‘keep driving’ as the Jockeys look to continue establishing themselves as a Step 4 club.

Promoted as Thurlow Nunn League Premier Division play-off winners in 2024, Newmarket’s first-ever campaign in the Isthmian League North Division was not one for those of a nervous disposition.

They eventually managed to stay up on the final day, whereas last term, aside from a tricky two-month spell, it was a more comfortable affair, with the gap to the bottom four a healthy 13 points.

And as they prepare for Saturday’s North Division opener on the road at Hashtag United (3pm), the message from Shinn is not to rest on their laurels.

He said: “We have to keep improving. Every year, if we can finish higher than the year before, that’s positive.

“We were unlucky last year with losing Stan (Leech, joined Dagenham & Redbridge) and Josh (Coulson, injured) at the same time.

“It halted our progress quite a lot, and we had a difficult couple of months.

“We got dragged down a little bit, but then we put in a decent run, and we were safe fairly early, which was nice.

“It’s difficult to put targets on it because that generally comes back to bite you, but from where we were last year, if we could be around mid-table and the top half, that would be a good season for us.

“What we can’t do is feel like we’ve cracked it after two seasons, especially because we were safe quite early last year.

“It’s important that we keep driving and make sure we finish as high as we can.”

One thing that Shinn should not lack this term is options.

A glance at who was named on the bench for Saturday’s 1-0 win at Godmanchester Rovers in the FA Cup gave a strong indication as to current quality at Shinn’s disposal.

And it means that the boss has some ‘really difficult decisions’ to make.

“We’re carrying a lot of players at the moment, and there’s a lot of competition for places. It’s the strongest group we’ve had in my time here,” he said.

“It’s a headache. People say it’s a good headache, but it’s horrible, because you have to have conversations with players that you don’t really want to have.

“It may help us this year that our reserves have been promoted to a reasonable level, but it will be difficult to keep everyone here.

“One thing this summer has shown is that the attitude towards pre-season is different compared to some other years.

“Everyone wants to be here, and the performance levels have been better because there’s competition for places.

“We’ve had friendlies in other summers, and only 12 or 13 players are available. Then others go on holiday, and you’ve got 12 or 13 again the week after. That means eight or nine players are playing 90 minutes every single Tuesday and Saturday, and it’s tough.

“There are some really difficult decisions to be made because there’s so much quality.”

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