The Park Road club have brought in Sanjay Patel as their head coach for 2019

Islington Gazette: Middlesex Women's head coach Sanjay Patel (pic: John Walton/PA Images).Middlesex Women's head coach Sanjay Patel (pic: John Walton/PA Images). (Image: PA Archive/PA Images)

North Middlesex have appointed Sanjay Patel as their new head coach and captain Joel Hughes is hopeful it will make a difference this season.

The Park Road club enjoyed a lot of highs in 2018, but still finished the campaign with no silverware to show for their fine squad mixed with youth and experience.

Defeats in both the Middlesex County League Cup final and T20 Cup final were hard to take, but North Middlesex did equal their best Premier Division points tally.

A third-place finish in 2018 does show Hughes' team are not too far away and they hope to make the final big step this year.

"We're looking forward to the new season. I feel like there is a slightly different dynamic at the club now with a head coach in place," said Hughes.

"Everything is feeling a little bit more professional with that now and that is definitely something we need."

Patel boasts great experience in the game having previously worked with the Middlesex Women's team.

It is hoped his arrival can help the club enjoy success in the big game moments which is where the side fell short in 2018.

"Our new head coach Sanjay is a guy who has done a lot of our junior coaching and he is also the Middlesex Women's coach too," Hughes added.

"It gives our training a bit of impetus and direction and it would be a shame for this era not to yield some silverware after pushing for the league and the cups recently.

"I am definitely aiming for us to get our hands on some silverware this season, for sure."

Richmond ran away with the title last season while it was also a similar story for Ealing in 2017, but 2016 was closer with North Middlesex second to Teddington by 16 points.

All four sides are likely to be in the running to be champions and Hughes wants better results in the big games.

Following an opening day win at Ealing in 2018, North Middlesex failed to triumph in any of the other games against their rivals

"We want to try and improve on last year and one of the areas is to win the big games and be beating sides like Teddington, Richmond and Ealing," Hughes said.

"I don't think we have done that enough consistently and I feel like if we could get the better of those teams over the season, we would stand a decent chance of winning the title."