STANWAY ROVERS fans have got used to having successful seasons, but the one that has just gone should live long in the memories of all those at The Hawthorns.

The past few years have seen the club move forward with big strides as it embarked on life in the premier division and it would appear that they seem perfectly at home at that level.

Following the end of Jimmy McIntyre's successful managerial tenure, Rovers offered the managerial reins to the untried duo of Paul Symes and Rob Bate, but the pair have repaid the board's faith in handsome proportions.

They worked hard to assemble a squad who played with an attacking flair, but still had a defensive solidity and were rewarded with a seventh-place finish in the premier division - the club's highest ever and saw them as the top Essex club in the Ridgeons League.

There was also unparalleled joy in cup action as, despite an early FA Cup exit, Rovers progressed to within three games of an FA Vase final at Wembley, before being knocked out in the fifth round by Coventry Sphinx. They also included Colchester United among their scalps in the Essex Senior Cup.

It is hard to pick out individual names as there have been great performances throughout the squad all season, as shown by the appearance of five Stanway players - Martin Curtis, Sam Newson, Angelo Harrop, Ross Crouch and Keith Emmerson - in the Gazette's Non-League Team-of-the-Year.

Curtis also collected a superb trio of players', managers, and supporters' player-of-the-year awards for a great season at full-back and Newson was voted young player-of-the-year as well as finishing as top-scorer.

The fact that Bate and Symes have decided to step down as managers to concentrate on their own playing careers could be viewed with a degree of sadness after all their success and it would be interesting to see just how far they could take the team they have assembled.

However, their legacy is a side that is brimming with confidence and should give new boss Chris Tracey a firm footing to continue the progression.