LIVERSEDGE manager Jonathan Rimmington has hailed his side’s Northern Premier League East Division title triumph as their biggest ever achievement.

Winning the league by five points has secured a second successive promotion for Sedge, with Rimmington insisting the foundation was recruiting quality players with great attitudes.

He said: “It’s our biggest achievement as getting into Step 3 (of the non-league pyramid) has never been known for us.

“We only lost one game all season and in any other season with us not there, (eventual runners up) Marske would have won the league by 15 points.

“I am an optimist but I didn’t know what was coming when we first started this season.

“But when we beat Marske early on, I started thinking it might not be that hard, and I soon realised we’d signed the right players.

“The lads all get on, they’re all mates, and it doesn’t matter whether they’re starting or on the bench, they take it all on the chin, and we had 21 of them travelling with us to the last few games.”

Rimmington added: “The key is the lads I brought in, like Jack Stockdill, who was Ossett’s captain, and Kurt Harris, who skippered Brighouse.

“Add Spencer Harris to that from Matlock and that’s three real leaders.

“Ben Atkinson came in from playing two leagues above and had a lot to prove, Nicky Walker fell out of love with the game at Alfreton, but we’ve put our trust in him and let him make decisions.

“Gav Allott is a goalscoring machine at this level, and then we brought in quality mid-season, in Lewis Whitham and then Connor Smythe from Worksop.

“Worksop’s set up is unbelievable, so to get Connor from there was unbelievable, but we sold the club and the dream of getting promoted to him.”

Thoughts now turn to what Sedge do next in the NPL Premier Division, and Rimmington said: “We can’t stand still.

“We’ve not stopped looking and we’ll aim to add three or four players I’d have thought.

“All the lads want to stay for next season though, so I have to consider whether that squad deserves another year together at that higher level, given everything they’ve done this season.”

He added: “If we were able to get out of the next league (into National League North), we’d have to look at moving grounds with help from Kirklees Council and the FA.

“We’ve got those two promotions on the trot, and I’m not sure how far we can go just yet.

“I’m a realist, a normal guy, and this isn’t about me, as Liversedge has become all about the players, the club and the community.

“We’re so much bigger than three years ago, when we were just plodding along in the Northern Counties East League.

“Eccleshill have a chance of getting promoted out of there now, and everyone can dream.

“You do need investment, but you also need the right players, as sometimes from higher up, they have a bigger ego.

“We’ve managed to avoid that problem, we’ve got a happy ship, and we’re looking forward to the County Cup final (against Brighouse) next week now.”