A new season is upon
us and a new look Welfare side is on the horizon. After the horrors and
disappointment of last year, it’s down to new manager Brian Johnston and his
assistant David Poppleton to change the fortunes of the club around.
Last season, Brian
took over from resigning manager Leo Fortune West and his task became keeping
Welfare in the top division. There were many issues inside the camp and
instantly Brian noticed these issues and changed the team mentality. “I could
see major things in the team moral and team bonding, making them all play for
each other, happiness and discipline.’ Brian soon made the choice to improve
all of these problems because as we saw last season, it all leads to bad
results and poor performances.
Last season Brian
saved the club from relegation on the last day with a 2-1 home win against
Glasshoughton Welfare. After all the nerves and tension, we wanted to know if
the full time job interested Brian. “We have a great set of lads at Armthorpe
and when I got to know everyone at the club and how passionate they were, it
inspired me to want the job full time.” Brian was then interviewed for the job
and took official charge of the side on the 24th of May.
The interview process
was a long and difficult period for all involved. The committee left nothing to
chance due to the problems found with the last managerial regime. Brian was the
front-runner throughout the process, we asked his feelings about this. “I
wasn’t too sure about it, I did hear little rumours around. It take time and
the suspense became a killer, but of course I wanted the job.”
So a new season is
just around the corner for Armthorpe. We all hope this season is much better
than the last. From being around the team as much as he has, I wanted to know
if Brian had seen anything that encouraged him to believe that this new season
is going to be better than the last. “The heart of the team is here, we are bringing
new players into the squad, the quality of the 4 or 5 that we have signed if we
can get them fit and work on them is something that’s exciting me, I’m
certainly encouraged by what I have seen.”
During the summer
break Brian was on the search for an assistant manager and he set his sights on
one man, former Everton and Lincoln City star David Poppleton. David has played
with the likes of Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Wes Brown at England
schoolboy level. Hopefully he has taken his experience as a player into his new
coaching role with Welfare; I wanted to know from Brian what David brings to
the table. “I’ve known Dave for a lots of years, I remember seeing him a young
lad at 15 and 16, he was struck down with injuries at an early age and retired.
Recently he’s taken his coaching badges and is extremely knowledgeable on set
plays and dead ball tactics. Also I believe that he can still pull a shirt on
at this level and make a difference. He’s a likeable character and he can offer
a lot to us.”
The new season starts
in three weeks and we wanted to know Brian’s expectations for his new look
Welfare side. “I know where I’d like to finish and that’s with everyone below
us, but with our tight budget we know we can’t compete with the top teams on
that, but I do have a realistic goal and that’s mid table, if we can finish mid
table, I’ll be very happy.”
Everyone at the club
is making a short wait until the fixtures are released and the season begins.
From what I have seen the squad is moulding very nicely together. We all hope
that this year will be better than the last. So get down this season as much as
you can and support Brian and the team, and cheer them onto a successful
season.
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