DROITWICH Director of Rugby Adam Drew believes blindside flanker Pete Knight will stay on at the club, despite the player announcing that he was hanging up his boots after the final game of the Midlands 1 West season last Saturday.
The Monners lost out 27-8 to Whitchurch at the Glyn Mitchell Memorial Ground to finish ninth in the division, which Drew admitted was a disappointing way to end their campaign.
“We didn’t step up as I had hoped against Whitchurch despite playing on home territory, we played well but Whitchurch played better.
“It doesn’t bother me too much as it was an end-of-season game, although we could have potentially moved above Old Halesonians with a win, but other than that our result couldn’t affect our season too much.
“It’s disappointing but we’ll move on from it.”
Drew spoke highly of Knight, and revealed that he expects the player to have a change of heart and stay on for Droitwich’s second-successive season in Midlands 1 West.
“I don’t think he’ll retire, I think he’ll stay here next season.
“He’s been a tremendous advocate for the club, a leader, a warrior, he’s a player who gives a lot of energy to the club and the players.
“He gives confidence to other players around him, I can’t speak highly enough of him, and hope that he stays.”
With next season in mind, Drew targets a top five finish, and anticipates another successful campaign next time out.
“This season, our target was to finish fourth from bottom and achieve survival in the league.
“We didn’t just do that, we finished ninth, which is an excellent position after coming up last season.
“I never doubted the players, I brought a lot of people into the club when I arrived, and I could see that we just needed confidence and support, the quality was there.
“I think we can target fifth or sixth next season, it’s got to be our target, we have to make sure we build on what we’ve achieved this season.
He revealed how important the 2018/19 campaign has been for himself and for the club, and is already anticipating the next year ahead.
“We’ve learnt a lot this season, we’re still learning every week, it’s been a great learning curve for all involved.
“It’s all about fitness and depth which play a big role, we’ll learn from our mistakes next season.”
