Barnet have a history of battling against relegation at the bottom of the Football League but Martin Allen has set his sights on building a brighter future.
Allen, who is now in his fourth spell in charge of the north London club, guided them to the Conference title last season and is not short of belief.
For although Barnet are 19th in League Two with 10 points from their first 11 games, Allen is confident his side can compete at the right end of the table.
“This club have a history of struggling and I want to buck that trend,” said Allen. “I want to be challenging at the top rather than fighting at the bottom.
“We are determined to build for the future and I have told the players I do not want to sit around. I want to go up this season. There are some big clubs in this division with big budgets well above ours but that does not mean we cannot put ourselves forward to challenge them. And for want of a better term, let them have it.”
Barnet are moving in the right direction after two years in non-League football. The Bees are enjoying life at The Hive, which opened two years ago, and Allen says chairman Tony Kleanthous has given him “tremendous backing financially” to build a squad capable of doing well this season. More stability off the pitch should help results on it but Barnet have made a mixed start.
Ahead of tomorrow’s home game against Accrington, Allen said: “Across the whole team — the squad, the management, the coaches — all of us have got to improve. We’ve been doing well at home. Away from home we have been playing well and not getting results. But it is far too early and it is a very tight division.
“If we had taken our chances in the games we have had, we would be sitting in the play-off positions. So we are capable. Take the chances and those points will start mounting up, I have no doubt about that.”
Barnet have not been in the third tier of English football since 1994 but Allen’s track record suggests he could be the man to get them there. He led Gillingham to the League Two title two years ago with one of the smaller budgets in the division.
Read More
“Pre-season with the bookmakers, Gillingham were not even tipped to be in the play-offs,” said Allen. “So it is possible. We have some very good players. You do not win the Conference like we did last season, being top for the whole season, by having a group of lightweights. We do not have the biggest budget but we can still thrive.”
