As club captain and a vital cog in The Colls line up, Jack Greenhough was the first man confirmed by Jimmy Williams. The first man in the history of the club to get his hands on the West Riding County Cup, his pride in Pontefract has been evident since his return to the club.
We caught up with Jack to discuss last year’s silverware, a look to next season and working under Williams;
Jack welcome back! After cup final glory, how much are you looking forward to getting back at it in 24/25?
I’m really looking forward to getting back at it next season. On a personal level in the middle of the season I was struggling to get in the starting XI, which I’ve never really had before, so it was a bit of a learning curve for me which made me find my form at the latter stage of the season. Getting all the fans back down and behind us the club is important, the club is on the rise and more and more people are coming down to watch us which is fantastic for the club and town.
The rest is well needed as it was a hectic year with all the games getting called off due to the weather, I think it took its toll on everybody towards the back end. Last season was a success in winning silverware, but I’m wanting to better that this season coming up.
You have known Jimmy for a number of years, being able to be his captain, how excited are you to continue working together?
I have known him as a person for a long time now, not just on the football field and I can’t wait to get going with him. I’m excited for the season ahead, he’s certainly got the determination to be a successful manager and whilst I’m playing under him I will give it my all to make him successful and bring the club more success.
A number of last year’s strong squad have already been retained, how key will that be for success again?
It takes time to gel as a group, so retaining so many players is great. It also goes to show the respect that the lads have for Jimmy and the club. A big part of doing well in football is keeping the squad together to push on as a unit and everybody works hard for one another. The togetherness that this group of players have is second to none, I’m sure the new lads coming into the group won’t take long settling in either.
Finally, what must have been a very proud moment to lift that County Cup – to be the first in the clubs history – tell us how you felt and how much you’ll be looking forward to push on and make more history for the club?
It was a very proud day for me to lift the County Cup, having my little lad there with me walking on the pitch beforehand and then celebrating with me afterwards! Words can’t really describe how proud I was, being club captain it meant a lot – but also having ‘Spratty’ by my side as vice captain, I wanted him to lift the trophy with me as he works just as hard as me in the changing room and on the pitch setting standards.
But mainly I was over the moon for the fans, they come to watch us week in week out and their support has been immense over the last few years, so to give them a county cup was class!
We fell at the last hurdle last year in the playoffs, so we will want to push on and improve on that. The FA Cup and FA Trophy runs are something i’d like to have more success in this season, they are great days and what every player wants to play in.