With just under a month until our pre-season preparations get underway with the visit of Lewisham Borough CFC in a friendly, we sat down with First Team Manager Shane Baptiste to look ahead to the upcoming season, which will officially kick off with our first Essex Senior League fixture taking place on 1st August.

Shane officially rejoined The Woods at the beginning of May after a brief hiatus for personal reasons, during which he left his role at the beginning of January. Having now had the time to settle in and get back up to speed with the Club once more, we sat down with our First Team Manager for the first time since his arrival back in IG8, where he told us he is "delighted" to be back.

"I’m delighted to be back as Manager of Woodford Town Football Club, it’s a Club that I have a massive amount of emotional attachment to and fantastic memories, and even more emotionally attached to those that work within the Club, from the Directors all the way down to the Hospitality Staff. I have a special connection with the fans.

"It’s a Club that has given me a lot, given me a platform, given me an opportunity and supported and backed me, and I have given my all to the Club, so we are aligned, and I’m just looking forward to the upcoming season and creating more memories and helping this club reach its objectives going forward."

The 2025/26 season saw us record our lowest finish since the 2021/22 campaign, as we ended in eleventh place in the league, but Shane Baptiste is keen to draw a line under that and strive for greater success in the coming season.

"We have got to draw a line. Last season was disappointing for everyone connected to the Club. I have had conversations with the board at length around what we have learnt from that period and things that we can do better, but as I said, nothing lasts forever, including problems, so I’m all about looking forward, getting back to what I know, which is winning games of football for this Club. We just want to move forward, draw a line and give the fans a season where they can regain their belief in what we are doing, and I’m looking forward to that."

Shane is no stranger to the operational manner of Woodford Town, and he believes that having a good relationship and the full support of our Board and Directors will only be used to his advantage as he re-enters the role.

"Of course! I have been very fortunate that when I first stepped foot into this Club, when I was with the Under 23s, I have had a fantastic relationship with all the board members and that hasn’t changed. The Club have proved that, when I had to take time away from football, they still supported me, not just the Directors but everyone else within the Club.

"The Directors are very determined and focused to not only get the First Team to be successful on the pitch, but off the pitch as well. We have fantastic facilities, we have a new stadium, but also you can look at Whitbreads where we have over 100 players participating, representing the Club. So the Directors have proved that their ambition is not only to do things well on the pitch, but off the pitch as well and the futuristic plans to improve the Club further are really exciting. I’m delighted to still be a part of that, part of the Club, and as I said, good people and very supportive to me."

We are also lucky enough to have an incredible fanbase, which Shane Baptiste is certain will only act as a positive to the team, who will have the backing of the Essex Senior League's most vocal fans both at home and on the road. He was also keen to give them some more of those magical Ashton's nights that we have experienced over the years.

"Like any Club, the fans are the fabric of the Club. As I said, I have nothing but love and admiration for the fans. They support the Club through thick and thin, win, lose or draw, rain, sleet or snow, they are always there, very vocal and backing the team.

"They are one of the main reasons why I returned to the Club, as I said, when I was away from football due to personal reasons, it was a really difficult period for me, but there was a lot of fans who reached out to me through my social media accounts regularly, making sure I was alright, There was some of the younger fans as well, expressing how much they miss me, and to me, I will do my all to give the fans that experience and those moments to really remember. We’ve had some fantastic memories over the years and may that continue."

Planning for the 2026/27 campaign has been underway for some time already. At what is already a busy time of the year for managers up and down the country, the task has been made even harder by the Club having a reset at First Team level this year, but the Gaffer is happy with the progress that has been made so far, with more to come in the weeks that will follow.

"The plans are simple. We have to get this Club back to being competitive on the pitch, that’s all we’ve known. We have to ensure that there is a lot of quality of work to do. Since I’ve been appointed Manager and started my role from the 1st May, I’ve been extremely busy- a lot of phone calls and communication and stuff like that, meetings, for us to reach the level that is required. But as I said. I’m confident that we are going to do well this year, I am confident that we can be competitive again, but in terms of reaching the plans for the next year, I have been busy, like all managers at all levels of non-league, you’re busy, a lot of phone calls, trying to finalise business as recruitment, and not just players, but staff and I have been doing that. Yes, I have recruited new members to my Management Team, all to be revealed by the media team, and I have been in good conversation with players. You know how I do my business, very discreet in what I do, and we will be announcing our signings at the right time, but in terms of player recruitment, I am still finalising two or three more deals. In terms of our recruitment targets, I am delighted that I have managed to recruit the majority of my recruitment targets at this precise moment."

Over the years, we have seen many players make the step-up after coming through the ranks at The Wods. Whether that be through our Academy set-up or the trust instilled in them by the First Team Management, there has never been a lack of progression.

Alejandro Machado and Montel McKenzie both spent time with us and have gone on to play in the National League South, as has Luke May-Parrott, who came through the ranks with our youth sides before departing for Hashtag United prior to his move to Step Two. Arguably our most impressive show of progression is Anis Mehmeti. The Albanian international, who has been capped five times in the senior set-up for his nation, is set for a Premier League debut in August, having won promotion from the EFL Championship with Ipswich Town last month.

Shane Baptiste, who is a product of the Woodford pipeline himself, is keen for it to continue to flourish, and he will be using his close relationship with newly-appointed Academy Manager, Kion Cornelius, whom he worked with in the First Team during the first part of the 2025/26 campaign, to his advantage.

"That is what Woodford Town is about. It has been built on progression, giving younger players an opportunity. If you are good enough, you’re old enough. Me personally, I am an example of that. I came into Woodford as the Under 23s Manager, and I was progressed into the First Team, and Woodford has done that with previous managers. In terms of the pathway, the Directors, Chairman, Tony Scott, Director of Football, Dee Safer, they expect players to be coming through the pathway.

"With Kion becoming the Academy Manager, the Under 23 and Under 18 managers and myself, we have to have a clear process, which we will do. I will always give players an opportunity, as I have demonstrated over the past, to me, that’s very important.

"Those players that you have mentioned have gone onto have some great careers in terms of what they have achieved from our club and going onto [teams at] Step Two and higher and that is something I am proud of, because as a Manager, yes, you have to have experienced players and players that can lead those younger players, but what I really enjoy about manging and coaching is when you introduce players that are unknown, younger players and introduce them, train them, educate them, give them a platform for them to showcase themselves, give them a direction to meet their development plan objectives and see them progress."