CHARLIE Kirk is desperate to share in promotion celebrations with Crewe fans this season – after Covid ruined their party four years ago.
The Railwaymen went into this weekend one position outside League Two’s automatic promotion places, having been top of the table at this stage in 2019-20 before the country went into lockdown.
Points-per-game calculations resulted in an eventual runners-up finish and Kirk, who returned to Gresty Road last month after his contract with Charlton was terminated in December, now wants to taste success in a more conventional style.
“I can’t say we felt robbed in 2020, because you can’t help what happened, but it was bittersweet, as we felt we were going to win the league quite comfortably,” he told The FLP. “Then, we just had an awards ceremony on our own at the training ground when 30-people gatherings outside were allowed, but we had to stay two metres apart.
Bittersweet
“It wasn’t ideal, but at least we had a little celebration. The fans didn’t, so it would be great if we could celebrate together this season.”
Kirk sees strong parallels between the current squad and that of 2019-20 when he was among a talented group of academy graduates, including Perry Ng, Harry Pickering and Ryan Wintle who all went on to secure Championship moves.
Kirk moved to south London for £500,000 and, with four home-grown youngsters -Rio Adebisi, Tom Booth, Zac Williams and Joel Tabiner – starting Tuesday’s 1-0 win over Sutton, he declared: “From my first step back into the building, I felt there were massive similarities between the two squads.
“Like we had before, there’s a group of young lads who’ve grown and played together for ten years. With our league position, we’re punching massively because the club were being tipped to go down in the summer, but we’re still not happy with where we are because we could be top of the league with some of the points we shouldn’t have dropped.”
Kirk, whose career stalled with the Addicks, admits he has been given a lift returning to an environment where he fe
