\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t there something you can do on the back of this Gavin and Stacey thing?\u201d Harris asks David Cole, mind instantly whirring away of possibilities as he chats with his Barry guest over the half-time buffet.<\/p>\n
His involvement in Welsh football may well have started as self-promotion, but it is clear Harris wants the game in Wales to succeed, not just his team.<\/p>\n
Short in stature but big on ideas, he cares little that his suggestions or opinions aren\u2019t welcomed by all, but certainly cares about trying to improve as he watches his side try to improve on the one-goal lead at the start of the second half, relaxed as he regales while leaning on the barrier at the back of the new stand.<\/p>\n
\u201cI always want to win, but I don\u2019t expect success,\u201d he says as Adam Wilson scores a second, back from Bradford City on loan after leaving for the EFL last season. \u201cBut I do like attractive football. I want to be entertained. I\u2019d much rather see a 4-3 win than a boring 1-0.\u201d<\/p>\n
It wasn\u2019t always the case. He retells the story of how, in the immediate aftermath of his investment and the name change, TNS drew their opening seven games and lost the eighth 10-0 at Barry.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were the standard we wanted to get to,\u201d he says. \u201cAnd hopefully we can be the catalyst for others.\u201d<\/p>\n
That includes the group stage of Europe, an achievement he had long promised all those who had listen. Most, including old friend and manager Graham Breeze, had laughed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI told him it was a pipedream,\u201d Breeze says of the ambition \u201cWhich he called to remind me after they qualified, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n
Breeze wasn\u2019t the only one who had told Harris he had set targets too high.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I genuinely believed it,\u201d the owner says, eyes fixed on the game as TNS continue to dominate. \u201cNow we just have to work out how to win it!\u201d<\/p>\n
There have been frustrations over the years when domestic triumphs didn\u2019t lead to competing in Europe. There have been 86 games played in Uefa competitions in all, but the new qualifying system and a final 3-0 aggregate win over Lithuanian side FK Panavezys three weeks ago has secured what he admits is a \u201csurreal\u201d realisation of a dream.<\/p>\n
A dream that started in Llansantffraid.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would have been relegated even as champions if we didn\u2019t meet the licencing criteria,\u201d he says of the move.<\/p>\n
\u201cPerhaps we could have made sure the reserve team played there, but I\u2019m glad there\u2019s a legacy and the new team is doing well.\u201d<\/p>\n
But have TNS truly found a home? Does it not irk that all this investment, all this success, and still only a few hundred join him?<\/p>\n
\u201cLook, both Oswestry and Llansantffraid didn\u2019t get big numbers,\u201d he argues. \u201cWe have had as much as 600 here for games and it is slowly starting to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut honestly I don\u2019t care how many, I care about them when they\u2019re here, that they come and enjoy it.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnyway, it\u2019s not me you should be asking; Sarah, tell this man what the club means to you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris has called over to the supporter with a lengthy green-and-white scarf stood a few feet away.<\/p>\n
She pauses as she thinks about the best way to put her response. As well as supporting the club, Sarah washes the kits; shorts and socks separate from tops, and get the shirts out of the dryer and hung up as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like a family,\u201d she says, content with her answer, before pointing out another member at the opposite end of the ground.<\/p>\n
Chrissie shares her own story of affinity with the club, stopping to look as Saints add two quickfire goals at the far end in the game\u2019s dying stages. She had only gone to take her son to see a friendly against Wrexham at Llansantffraid. Almost a quarter of a century on – making the short hop over the border – and she\u2019s still here.<\/p>\n
As is Harris.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe always wanted this, but I didn\u2019t think it would happen,\u201d Chrissie adds of the European adventure. \u201cWe got there \u2013 but he probably won\u2019t stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n