Bath City manager Darren Way is pleased with how the 2025-26 season is going.
Darren Way says Bath City’s home game with Torquay United and the Isuzu FA Trophy run are his highlights of the season | Photo © Simon Howe
The former Yeovil Town boss guided the Romans to Step 2 survival last term after taking over in December 2024 – and he is adamant that the same can be achieved this season.
Despite being giant-killed in the Emirates FA Cup by Wimborne Town, City are still involved in the Isuzu FA Trophy and Francis Hiller Premier Cup – formerly the Somerset Premier Cup – and lie two points above the drop zone in Enterprise National League South.
Way said: “In terms of evolving the squad, that’s gone really well. It’s really important we keep adding players in different positions to improve the team.
“We’ve probably been on the wrong end of some decisions which could’ve made our season look a bit different.
“We’ve had to address the last two, three minutes in games, which has cost us on a number of occasions [due to conceding late goals].
“We’ve got enough games to go to make sure we keep climbing the table, we keep improving, and [we] look forward to our FA Trophy game [at home to Southend United] on Saturday.
“The good thing is [whereas] last year we relied on loan players, this year we’re trying to sign permanent signings – Charlie Binns, Matty Bowman, Owen Windsor, I feel they’ve added real value to the squad.
“Obviously Scott [Wilson] went to Weston-super-Mare, for his own wishes, and we wished him all the best in his career, but that allowed us to bring in a few players and I think they’ve done really well.”
As for his highlights of the 2025-26 campaign so far, Way said: “The Torquay [United home] game from a tactical point of view. That was an extremely difficult game for the players, for the staff.
“They’re a good team. You can see that they’re a team that are going to be pushing for promotion at the end of the season. It was an intense game, a physical game.
“The FA Trophy run speaks for itself. We’ve had some key moments – Charlie Binns’ penalty saves, Jordan Alves’ [goal from a] free-kick at Dorking [Wanderers].
“So I’ve really enjoyed this season. But it’s been a season that’s been extremely challenging from a financial point of view because ultimately the players are still part-time and they’re coming up against some excellent teams.
“I feel that if I was training the players every day, what we would look like.
“But there’re an honest group of players and we could be a little more street smart at times. But overall I can see improvements.”
Regarding the crowd of 2,289 at the Cannon Clarke Stadium @ Twerton Park for the Torquay clash on Tuesday 30th December, Way said: “For National League South, to be getting over 2,000 supporters just shows what the game of football means to the community, to the supporters that invest a lot of money, a lot of time and a lot of effort.
“I’m hoping the Southend game can be the same. If we can win that game being the underdog, it will taste a little bit sweeter with the experience that I’ve had in cup runs.
“We’ve had some good memories at Twerton and big thanks to the supporters for following us and creating noise every game.”
And Way believes that Bath will beat relegation from National League South, despite their part-time status in a division that is becoming increasingly full-time.
He said: “The spirit’s been good. The team looks fit. We had a fantastic pre-season. We’ve had one or two injuries but they’re not injuries where you have to look internally at your training schedule or your decision making in terms of team selection.
“We’ve not had more than three players out over the course of the season, which is really important financially when you’re dealing with a small squad.
“We’ve got to make sure we keep evolving the squad and recruiting good players that are going to give us the opportunity to win more consistently.
“As long as you’ve got confidence in what you do as a team, and what you do as staff, you’ve got to hold your nerve and focus game by game, don’t look at the league table, and I’m sure we’ll end up with the same results as what we ended up with last year [league survival].”
Meanwhile, Larkhall Athletic’s bid for a fourth successive victory in Pitching In Southern League Division One South was put on hold when their scheduled game at Tavistock on Wednesday 7th January was postponed.
The match was called off in late morning as parts of the pitch at the bottom-of-the-table Devon club’s Langsford Park were frozen.
Weather permitting, Athletic will be in league derby action at Westbury United on Saturday 10th January (3pm).
