Joe Burgess | Stamford AFC
- Ben Ditchfield
- Apr 17
- 4 min read
Stamford have arguably been the side of 2026 in the Southern Premier Central having all but secured step 3 safety against all the odds. Their latest success, a 4-0 thrashing against Banbury United on Tuesday night took them six points clear of the drop, with just two games left to play.
The Lincolnshire side, managed by a non-league great in Graham Drury, sat bottom of the league and 10 points from saftey on New Year's Day, and the remarkable turnaround since has seen them pick up a whopping 30 points this calendar year. Only Harborough Town, Real Bedford & Kettering Town have won more.
A man who has been key to the sides astonishing change of fortunes is club captain Joe Burgess. The 30 year old who is approaching his six year anniversary at the club has started the last seven games the Daniels have played, since an ACL injury sustained in a game against Redditch United in March last year, which kept him out for over 12 months.
The defender scored the first of the four on Tuesday night against the Puritans at Stamford's Zeeco Stadium, and afterwards I spoke to the Daniels captain to get his thoughts on the game, and the emotianal journey endured during his lenghty time on the sidelines.
"To get the win on Tuesday was massive. There was an awful lot of pressure on the boys to perform, and make sure we gave ourselves the best chance of staying at this level for ourselves and more importantly the fans ahead of the final two games of the campaign.
"The season has been tough for the lads, but we showed that night we are a new side beeming with confidence. What worked well against Banbury was we played to our strengths by getting the ball in the right areas, using our pace up top, and playing in the final third rather than playing in front of them.
"Our home form in recent months have no doubt driven us to the postion we finds ourselves in. I think the key to it since the new year has been a few things. The reality of going down really hit home so of course we had to pull our sleeves up and start performing to our ability. Once we started to get results, confidence grew and momentum has built, which has helped us play without fear in front of our home crowd.
"Reflecting on my personal performances since returning from ACL reconstruction is difficult, as I know I’m not where I want to be but I’m getting closer with every game and building towards next season. I’m just happy to be contributing on the pitch after watching for almost the entire season.
"The support I had from my wife and family rallying around me throughout the early part of my injury kept me going, and the fact that i had my fist baby daughter due shortly after the injury gave me motivation to get back and be as hands on as possible. Once she arrived time seemed to go very quickly which helped as it kept me busy mentally.
"That combined with staying around the club as much as possible, training/games home and away kept me hungry to get back and fight with the boys to stay up. I also had massive guidance from my rehab coach (Harvey), which meant all I had to do was put the graft in and follow a plan which has got me to this point. Lastly the support from the club, fans and the wider footballing community kept me going with constant messages of support and encouragement.
"It might sound like a cliche but, my message to the fans is simple really, just a thank you, thank you for turning up week in week out to support the club in what has been a very difficult year. Each and every one of the players and staff appreciate it, and to have them get behind the boys in numbers for the remaining 2 games will help push us over the line as we aim to finish strong and look ahead to what I’m sure will be a more successful 26/27 campaign."
So what has been the key to Stamford’s current position in the league table? The side have improved remarkably defensively proven by the fact they have conceded just 23 goals in their last 20 league games, compared to 41 in the previous 20 this campaign.
The Daniels solid record has seen a huge improvement, in particular the first half of matches. In their last 20 league games, they have conceded just 9, compared to 17 in the previous 20 this campaign. In fact, in 2026 they have conceded just seven first half goals, and only Bury Town & Worcester City have let in fewer this calender year.
Adding to the narrative of their amazing defensive turnaround, Stamford have kept the most clean sheets in 2026 of all 22 Southern Premier Central sides with eight. The Daniels have also kept six clean sheets in their last 12 league games, as many as they kept in the previous 33.
Last but not least, it's hard to ignore the incredible recent home record, mentioned by Burgess during our chat yesterday. In every Southern Premier Central side's last 10 home games, Stamford, alongside Harborough, have won 26 points out of the possible 30, the most in the division by a decent margin.
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