DAVE Jones wasn’t even born the last time Atherton LR reached the fourth round of the FA Vase but one of non-league’s youngest managers is determined to make Saturday a proper date for the diary.

On Saturday, Hallam FC visit the SafeGasUK Stadium – aka Crilly Park - for what is being billed as LR’s biggest knockout game since they reached the semi-final stage of this competition in 1994.

For a club which scrambled back from the edge of financial ruin five years ago, the big match will be a celebration of all the volunteers and supporters who have helped them get this far.

But for Jones, still just 25 but already 18 months into what has been an incredible revival of league fortunes as a manager, it is a chance for the considerable progress made on the pitch to get some recognition from a wider audience.

“It has been a long time since there was a game like this one to build up to, and it’s great because it gets people in the town talking again,” he told The Bolton News. “The club probably hasn’t been noticed that much over the last 10 years, at least not for the right reasons, and we’re not blind to it, people want to see winning football at every level.

“The worst of it happened before my time but I know the stories, heard all the noises, and I know what hard work has gone into making sure the club survived. I’m sure back then, days like this would have felt very, very far away.

“This season you can see there’s a buzz around the place again. The financial rewards of this competition are great, you split the gate receipts but there’s secondary incomes like the bar and the food, so it’s a great earner for us.

“The big thing is just to be able to make people proud. We know it’s a difficult game against a club from a higher level but we give it our all, let’s see where it takes us?

“It’s a brilliant family club and we’ve got some great facilities to come and enjoy. Most of all, though, I think the players deserve the town coming down and supporting them Saturday for all the hard work they have done this season. They deserve a big crowd, they really do.”

The turnstiles are expected to be busy as Atherton LR take on Hallam FC in the FA Vase Fourth Round (Image: NQ)

After reaching the play-off semi-finals in the North West Counties First Division North last season and losing a couple of key players over the summer, Jones has been able to remodel the team and push on, occupying a top-two spot for the vast majority of the campaign so far.

Attendances are up 75-80 per cent on last season, free season tickets have been handed out to residents of the surrounding estates and even this week volunteers have been treading through the ice and snow to leaflet local homes and make local folk know the cup is in town.

“When we first came in 18 months ago we wanted to create a team people in the town could feel proud to come and watch,” he said. “Sort of as a baseline, it was ‘make sure we leave everything out there on the pitch every week.’ “Consistency of players was a big thing because the season before I came in I think they’d used about 70, so it’s really hard for the fans to identify and build a relationship with who they have come out to support. Last year we’d used the second lowest, about 30, there wasn’t as much chopping and changing.

“The players appreciate the support, the social media buzz, it’s a thing for them to drive them on as well. We try to play good football but it’s all about picking up three points and they have been brilliant for me so far this season.”

Jones is halfway through his second season in charge at LR but had previously coached at Bootle, also taking charge of their Under-21s. To make the switch to the dugout at such an early age is not too common, and he admits the demands are quite different.

“I did look my age when I first started but I look about 45 now,” he laughed. “God knows what I’ll look like in another five years.

“I switched to coaching because, honestly, I’d just stopped enjoying playing. I was at Burscough and Charnock in the North West Counties Premier and after Covid I came back and I was dragging myself to games, asking the linesman how long is left every five minutes. You can’t keep doing something if you start disliking it but I felt like I’d let people down who’d supported me, like my dad who had taken me around the North West growing up.

“I’d done a bit with St Helens Under-18s alongside playing and it kind of carried on. I was so fortunate to be given an opportunity at my age at a club which was established like this one.

“I have a way I see things, my beliefs, but I’m also so lucky to have a fantastic staff around me - physio, goalkeeper coach, assistant manager, analyst, a scouting team. All the little building blocks we have put into place which help us now but also in the future.

“That support isn’t about finances, it’s about having good football people around you, and I’ve been really fortunate that it’s been the case since day one at Atherton LR.”

Tickets for Saturday’s game (3pm kick-off) are £6 for adults, £4 for concessions and Under-16s are free.

The SafeGasUK Stadium, otherwise known as Crilly Park (Image: NQ)