"It's been very enjoyable" - Darren Sarll reflects on nearly a year in charge
The Woking manager took over at the end of March 2022, and has overseen an impressive season, with Woking pushing for promotion.
On the 28 March 2022, Darren Sarll was officially unveiled as Woking manager.
Replacing Alan Dowson, Sarll joined The Cardinals after a spell at Yeovil Town.
Nearly 12 months later, Sarll has overseen an impressive rise up the table, with Woking currently sitting in third, only behind Wrexham and Notts County, and on track to finish in the play-off places.
Reflecting on his time in charge, Sarll explained that it's been a positive 12 months.
"It's been very enjoyable... we seen from the outside in to have made real strides on the pitch. When I joined, my mission statement was to try and bridge the gap between a club like Woking and the bigger clubs in the division.
"Based on the market, which is our league table, you'd say in this current season we've done that."
Last summer, Sarll oversaw a significant change in the squad, with a number of players both departing and joining the club. First team regulars from the season before, such as Max Kretzschmar, Inih Effiong, Tom Champion and Moussa Diarra all left the club, whilst Woking acquired a significant number of new signings - including centre back Scott Cuthbert, midfielder Jim Kellerman and forwards Padraig Amond and James Daly.
Sarll highlighted why having a smaller squad can have advantages.
"I always prefer to work with smaller groups than big groups, and those signings have worked very very well. But also the players that we've kept have done excellently to adapt to me."
It's been a strong season for the Surrey side, with a number of memorable moments. Woking beat fierce rivals Aldershot both home and away, with an emphatic 4-1 win at The Laithwaite Community Stadium. They've also recorded victories over fellow promotion contenders, such as Chesterfield and Bromley. Woking are also the only side to take points off high-flying Wrexham at home, with a 2-2 draw in Wales.
"It's really important that the player's self worth is really high."
Sarll gave some insight into how he manages, and his approach to the dressing room.
"My style is to always adapt, always adapt and be adaptable to the players that I've got... I say this to my players all the time, my duty is to the dressing room."
Last weekend, Woking continued their high-level form by easing past Maidenhead with a comfortable 2-0 win. Goals from Padraig Amond and a free kick from Luke Wilkinson sealed the points. Darren expressed his happiness with such a controlled performance.
"We felt in control... my teams always try and assert that mentality that one needs to be two, two needs to be three, that kind of relentless, no-mercy thought process.
"It's easy to think that we are smaller than what we can be. It's really important that the players self worth is really high."
"Last week was as comfortable as we've been."
A 12:30 match against Chesterfield this weekend will be an interesting battle, with both clubs vying for promotion. Sarll explained however, that the focus should be on Woking's brilliance across the whole campaign.
"If we end up on Saturday at 2 o'clock 4th or 5th, or at the end of the season we end up 6th or 7th, we've had a brilliant season, and a season that I would have thought everyone's enjoyed immensely."