THE top theme parks in the world have nothing on Weymouth FC when it comes to rollercoaster rides, according to Brendon King.

The past year has been one of constant twists and turns at the Bob Lucas Stadium, some of which have been hard to stomach, but the Terras’ assistant-manager is confident the club has emerged stronger for it.

King, who began the season at the helm of the reserves before becoming Martyn Rogers’ number two in January, told Echosport: “This season has been one massive rollercoaster ride where you never quite knew what was round the next corner.

“Starting on minus 10 points was always going to make it a big task anyway but the fact we had to bring in a whole new squad of players as well made it even tougher.

“Ian Hutchinson and Andy Mason were obviously in charge at the beginning of the campaign and when we sat down and spoke about players, we all felt we could stay up.

“The idea at the time was to bring players in that could progress into the first team alongside some more experienced heads.

“Unfortunately, it was much tougher to get people than we all expected. Not only did a lot of players not want to come down and play for a club on minus 10 but we also had several players let us down at the last minute.

“They would tell us they were coming down for a friendly or for training and then just not turn up, which was very frustrating.

“We then started the season with a lot of draws and I honestly believe had we turned a couple of those into victories it would have given everyone a massive lift and other players would have seen it and maybe come down.

“However, football is about taking chances and scoring goals and we did not do that in the opening few games and from there we were never able to build any momentum.

“It was certainly not down to a lack of effort but every time we seemed like we had turned a corner we would then suffer another setback. When you are struggling near the bottom everything tends to go against you.

“Big decisions in games were not going our way and even the weather conspired against us before Chris-tmas when we had to do circuits in the changing room and run up and down the stands because there was no where to train due to the snow.

“The turnout to those sessions were always fantastic though and that proved the camaraderie we had and just how much the boys were up for the fight.

“The board then decided to replace Ian with Martyn in January and gave him more money for players to try and keep the club in the league.

“Martyn has a wealth of experience and knows a lot of players and contacts, and with that extra backing from the board, he managed to bring in the more experienced heads we needed and it paid off but even then we still had our ups and downs.

“After everything that happened over the course of the campaign, to stay in the division was a great achievement. However, it is vital everyone at the club learns from the experience now so we can come back stronger next season.”

The other major success story was the emergence of several local players, who stepped up in standard and more than held their own.

King added: “The likes of Sam Clarke, Lewis Whyton, John Lither-land and Alex Halloran all made the jump from Dorset Premier League football, which is a massive step, and they certainly did not let anyone down.

“Expecting them to come in and perform consistently well over 40 games would have been too much to ask but there is no doubt they played a huge part in keeping the club in this division and deserve a lot of credit.

“Had we got the experienced heads in at the start of the season like we had at the end, I think it would have made a huge difference both in terms of their development and how the campaign panned out as whole.

“My only hope now is that they continue to work hard and do not step back down now to the Dorset Premier League because they are a lot better than that.

“I am hoping many of them will stay but if they decide not to, I would at least like to see them go and test themselves in the Western or Wessex Premier leagues.”

The two players that made the biggest impact last season were clearly top-scorer Warren Byerley and winger Jamie Beasley.

King said: “Warren has had to come through many ups and downs in his career despite still only being 26, and to score 25 goals in a team battling relegation is a huge testament to him.

“He works his socks off both on and off the pitch, and sets a great example. And what he has achieved this season has just been fantastic.

“As for Jamie, he was playing for Dorchester Borough in Dorset League Division One at the start of the season and has made huge progress.

“I had been tracking him for a while and when I eventually got him down to the reserves he made an instant impact.

“He believes in himself a lot more now and if he continues to work hard then I have no doubts there is a bright future in the game ahead of him.”