Goddard says Slough Town future will depend on the club's ambition this summer

Johnny Goddard. Photo: George Beck

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Johnny Goddard has had an incredible season for the Rebels, topping the scoring charts for the club with 19 goals and helping them to an impressive 10th place finish in the National League South.

His performances this season have also been good enough to catch the eye of Paul Fairclough, the England C coach, who's called him up to the non-league Three Lions squad for next week's game against Nepal in Aldershot.

That was an unexpected but proud moment for the player, however, while he's loved playing for the Rebels under Scott Davies this season and has been given the freedom to express himself and contribute with both goals and assists, he admits he hasn't yet decided if he'll stay with the club next season.

Like most players his contract with the club will soon be up and, at the age of 31, he'll once again assess his options and the opportunities that come his way. He added that he'll wait and see how ambitious the Rebels are this summer before committing to them for another season.

Like all players, he'd love to compete for trophies and promotion and - while he believes there's a chance the Rebels progress once more and put themselves in the mix for that - he's keeping his options open right now.

Speaking this week, Goddard said: “I'm not sure yet. I've not committed anywhere and obviously, players at our level have one-year contracts or rolling contracts so there's inevitably a lot of turnaround in squads over the summer.

“Myself, I’ve enjoyed my football at Slough. But like we said a bit earlier, it probably depends on how ambitious the club is going to be. All clubs in our league will look to keep their best players and if the club can do that, and then look to attract players to improve the squad, then it's going to be a good place to be. But, like I've said, nothing is sorted out yet.

“I’m 31 this summer. So, although I’ve played full time, and have done over the bulk of my career, I want to be as ambitious as I can be. That means competing at the top end of the division and wanting to win things. We’ll see. It depends a bit on how Slough are setting up for next year and how ambitious they plan to be, and we’ll go from there really.”

Without Goddard's goals and assists this season, it's unlikely the club would have dragged themselves out of the relegation zone and into a top 10 finish. It's also unlikely they'd have gone 23 games unbeaten at Arbour Park in all competitions, and while both of those achievements are a source of pride for Goddard, he feels the side left some points out there that were theirs for the taking. On too many occasions they dropped points against struggling sides, and it's those results that ultimately scuppered the Rebels' play-off bid.

“I think that over the course of the season, our quality did show,” he said. “We had some players who were playing well, and I think a lot of it comes down to momentum as well.

“In that league, you can go on runs where you string results together, but then the opposite can happen as well and that can derail your season.

“We just got on a good run really. Everyone was playing with confidence; everyone knew their jobs.

“We scored so many goals, partly because we were allowed to go and express ourselves without the reins on us. We were allowed to be creative and to play with freedom.”

He added: “But we ultimately failed to pick up enough points against the teams that were struggling in that division and some who were relegated.

“Whether that’s because of how we set up, or a mentality shift, thinking we would go and win those games, I don't know. We competed so well against teams at the top of the division, so that's why I say I feel we left a few points out there. The teams that get into the play-offs and go on and get promoted more often than not win those types of games.

“We just came up short, which was a bit disappointing, despite how well we did. A few teams stuttered over the finish line and if we'd managed a few more wins we'd have got there. But, from a personal point of view, scoring so many goals and having such a large involvement in other goals, it's been nice to contribute personally to the season.”

Slough have improved season on season since Davies took over from Neil Baker and Jon Underwood. His initial remit was survival, which was achieved the season before last, while this season they've played some entertaining stuff enroute to a top 10 finish. Goddard is confident they'll push on again under Davies but says there are 18 teams in the division who'll feel they can do the same. Whether he's there to help them try and achieve a top seven finish or more also remains to be seen.

“I’m sure that will be the plan,” he said. “But you could speak to 18 sides in pre-season, and they’d all say they want to get in the play-offs.

“It’s quite an even division. There’s not always a huge gap between the big boys and the rest of the teams, it’s so competitive it’s hard to predict.

“When Scotty came in his remit was to get out of relegation danger initially, and then last year we took a big step forward, so I’m sure that next season will be to go one step further.”