Neil Parsley was left in no doubt as to the expectations of new club Farsley AFC after being told that anything other than promotion in his first season would be viewed as a failure.

In a division in which there is just one automatic promotion place and no play-off system, he was working under extreme pressure from the minute he was put in charge last July.

Farsley AFC had been formed in haste from what was left of Farsley Celtic.

Parsley had been manager of the Celts when they were closed down by their administrators in the middle of the Blue Square Bet North campaign.

Parsley’s men, under financial and transfer restrictions, were just outside the play-off zone in that BSB North at the time.

Leeds Council bought Throstle Nest from the administrators, sold it back to John Palmer’s consortium and the former Celts’ life president set about reforming a club.

Farsley AFC was born, allotted a place in the Kool Sport Northern Counties East League Premier Division and Parsley was given his very plain brief.

The manager immediately recruited Mark Jackson and Simeon Bambroook as his assistants, and they contacted all of the old players.

Many had been snapped up by other clubs but enough of them to form the basis of a squad, including skipper Dominic Krief, agreed to drop down three divisions and continue to represent the club.

As first seasons go for new clubs, the one just ended was very successful for Farsley AFC.

They were pushed all the way by their rivals in their new division and seen as a scalp by every team who faced them in either league or cup.

However, Parsley’s men won the title by a seven-point margin, securing the promotion that Palmer had demanded.

Farsley had the most wins in the division, scored the most goals (108) and conceded the fewest (41), which gave them a huge plus-67 goal difference.

Not that they needed it in the final analysis as Parkgate, who were runners-up, tailed off in the hectic run-in of a campaign so badly affected by the brutally severe winter.

Parsley looked for an unprecedented treble as his side battled on two cup fronts until the final month of the season but had to settle for a double.

The League Cup was added in the final chapter but they ended up as beaten finalists in the NCEL President’s Cup, fourth-placed Tadcaster Albion recording a shock 5-1 win.

Following such an amazing inaugural season, there can surely be only one question posed to those at Throstle Nest; ‘how do you follow that?’ The coming season will certainly have onlookers scrutinising their progress.