Robins boss passed milestone in recent 1-1 draw with Wick
Hassocks head coach James Westlake hit the one hundred games mark in charge of the Robins with the recent 1-1 draw against Wick.
Westlake was appointed in May 2022, replacing Brad Sweetman in the hot seat. He instantly set about rebuilding the squad and a busy summer saw 10 first team recruits arrive, a mixture of new faces and popular favourites returning to the Hassocks Hotel Beacon Ground.
The Robins finished the 2022-23 season in 10th spot, their first top half finish for nine seasons. Westlake oversaw 19 wins, six draws and 13 defeats from 38 Southern Combination Premier Division matches, alongside a run to the quarter finals of the Sussex Principal RUR Charity Cup.
Hassocks also set a club record of five consecutive clean sheets in senior football, whilst Phil Johnson plundered 24 goals to become only the sixth player to pass 100 for the club.
Even better was to come in 2023-24. Despite having no playing budget, Westlake managed to put together a group of players who defied the odds to finish the campaign in fifth place.
That meant the Robins qualifying for the promotion playoffs, as well as racking up the most points Hassocks have ever managed in a step five campaign of 78.
Another record was almost claimed when seven consecutive wins through January and February tied the previous best.
Hassocks also picked up their first Southern Combination Team of the Month Award in over a decade when winning three from three in January, scoring 10 times and conceding zero.
Average attendances were subsequently the highest they have ever been across a single season, whilst the 673 who packed into the ground for the final game of the campaign was the biggest crowd to ever watch the Robins in a league game.
They were treated to Westlake overseeing a 5-1 win over a Newhaven side who could have finished runners up with victory that day.
Hassocks even had to overcome playing with only 10 men for more than an hour after Dan Turner was shown an early red card.
Other highlights of the 2023-24 campaign included a sensational 3-2 victory away at eventual Southern Combination League champions Steyning Town and a place in the first round proper of the FA Vase for the first time in nine years.
With other clubs circling as a result of the Robins’ success, Westlake again found himself undertaking something of a summer rebuild going into the current season.
10 new players again arrived but there has been little sign of Hassocks’ progress slowing so far. The Robins are unbeaten in their opening four league matches and almost took title favourites Haywards Heath Town to a replay in the FA Cup.
Overall, Westlake has won 50, drawn 18 and lost 32 from his 100 games in charge. Hassocks have scored 193 goals at an average of nearly two per game and conceded 128.
