New FC Clacton First-Team Assistant Manager Michael Pulford has spoken to the FC Clacton website about his delight in joining the club and how he is eagerly awaiting the start of the new season. His appointment at the club has seen him team up once more with Steve Pitt in a reunion that goes back to their days together at Wivenhoe and Heybridge Swifts.
"Firstly, I would like to say how pleased I am to be joining FC Clacton. One of the major factors in coming here was realising the type of people here and how good the set-up appears to be. From the owners to the volunteers that assist the club, I knew that this was the right place to come to and in doing so, I am able to team up again with Steve (Pitt) and I cannot wait for the season to start.
"I worked with Steve when he was at Wivenhoe and at that time, I was their Under 18's Manager. We have kept in touch ever since we departed the club and after a spell as Assistant Manager to Glenn Driver at Felixstowe & Walton United, Steve took me on once more to scout for him at Heybridge. Then when the offer came to join him once more at Clacton, I was very quick to say yes and now we look to carry on the excellent job that David Coyle has done".
One of the most talked about words in football at the lower end of the game these days is 'budget' and it is well-known that at Clacton, it compares much lower to a number of Ridgeons League clubs that Michael does not believe will be too detrimental to the Seasiders hopes of a decent 2010/11 campaign.
"More and more clubs are now waking up to the reality of the credit crunch and none more so than in local football. Our budget may be in the lower half of the Ridgeons Premier League but not too disimilar to that of a number of other clubs.
"But with a lot of clubs having to lower their budgets, this could be appealing for us as we are a club that certain players would feel happy in joining. Of course, some players will go out for an extra £10 or £15 to join a club up the road, but then that said, I think that some will now join a club where they feel comfortable and happy to play at. Ray Turner signing for us is a prime example. Money did not necessarily play the biggest part in him coming to Clacton".
Michael was also delighted in the squad that the coaching team has inherited and feels lucky to already have good foundations in place for the new season. “We have taken over a good squad here, one that is motivated by its togetherness and camaradarie and one that enjoys playing together. We are of course looking to add three or four players to strengthen the squad but in terms of what is already here, we have already seen some of the players play between us and we know what they are about. However, everyone of course starts with a clean slate and will have a chance to prove themselves for a place in the starting line-ups and on that basis, we could find that we only need maybe one more player to slot into the team or equally three or four to supplement the squad".
Michael had praise for the club owners, for the position they have put the club in since their arrival and has high hopes for 2010/11. “We are happy with everything in place for us and we are grateful to Stephen Andrews and David Ballard for rescuing the club four years ago and getting it to where it is now. With everything in place, there is no reason why we should not be aiming for a say top six or eight finish”.
So what can the players and supporters of FC Clacton expect from the new trio? “All three of us will be on the bench on matchdays with Phil in charge of training. Both Phil and I will be involved with the warm-ups prior to games, so you can say that we will all be hands on for sure. We have certain standards that we obviously want the players to meet too.
“All three of us can be quite vocal so I’m sure we will have great competition with the Shelter boys once the season starts”. |
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