HARRIERS must ready themselves for the challenge of being there to be shot at in the 2024-25 National League North, says Phil Brown.
The Reds took on and toppled two of the National League’s bigger hitters on the road last season in Oldham and Chesterfield.
On the whole, of course, it was a season that ended in disappointment, and now Brown is mindful his charges must be braced for being in the opposite position at times next term.
There are some sizable clubs in the North – Brown citing Scunthorpe United as an example – but the men from Aggborough will have to know that many will view them as one of them, and that teams will come to Aggborough with a point to prove.
Reflecting, the boss said: “I had a look at one or two fixtures at the end of last season, in preparation, just in case – because you want to know where you’re going.
“When you see the likes of a Scunthorpe, who I played against as a player 25, 30 years ago, they’ve always been an EFL team.
“They now find themselves in the wilderness, if you want to call it that, but they’re one of the big targets.
“That’s what you’ve got to have: you’ve got to have a group of players that have the mentality to be able to stand up to that.
“You have a target on your back as Kidderminster Harriers now, a big club in this smaller division, supposedly.”
Taking that point further, Brown was clear in saying he wants players to embrace the challenge of playing at Aggborough, which has proved problematic at times in recent campaigns.
He added: “If you look around and see Kidderminster Harriers in the National League or the National League North, we’re one of the big eggs, shall we say, one of the big targets that players want to play for, but also one of the big targets that players want to come here and beat.
“We know what we are. But hopefully that first part – players that want to come here and express themselves for Kidderminster Harriers – hopefully we’ll get the right group of players that can represent us next year.”