Rothbury’s promotion as champions into the
notoriously tight Division One of the Northern Football Alliance hasn’t changed
the club’s philosophy one iota – and that’s the way boss Dan Herron wants it to
remain.
Herron and coach Tom Macpherson have
drilled a number of key principles into the Armstrong Park side – playing out
from the back, keeping a high press, maintaining shape and retaining possession
– and they want to see that attractive style of football again at the higher
level this season. In fact, it is a way of playing that Herron would love to
see the coaches at the club embrace from the youngest age groups up right up to
the senior squad.
“We want to have a
reputation for playing football the right way, regardless of who we face, so
it’s important that everyone buys into it,” said the manager.
“Other teams are obviously
aware of it too, so we need to be intelligent with how we approach certain
games, but passing football is always number one priority for Rothbury FC. We would love to filter that philosophy all the
way through the juniors and plan to implement it when we can. There’s obviously
a lot of work involved with running the club so it’s just something we haven’t
got around to yet.”
The Reds have brought in a number of new faces for the season and boss Herron is not only pleased with the additions, but with the attitude displayed by the players that were already part of the set-up.
The Reds have brought in a number of new faces for the season and boss Herron is not only pleased with the additions, but with the attitude displayed by the players that were already part of the set-up.
“We’ve got such a
competitive squad now, adding some experience from higher level but also
youngsters with good attitudes to develop,” he continued.
“We’ve also had some lads
really step up this pre-season too, and are like new signings with the hunger
they’re bringing, Chrissy Coe in particular. He’s a model trainer, the fittest
lad I’ve ever seen here, and is just hungry to impress and improve, it’s
refreshing to see.”
The step up into Division One will
obviously bring a higher class of opponent and the Reds’ manager is looking for
to the new season, which kicks off with a trip to Seaton Burn on Saturday
(kick-off 2.30pm).
“I think it will be difficult - we’re expecting some more physical battles and the organisation and tactical set ups to be more strategic, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
“We’ve had a really good pre-season, training and friendly-wise. We’ve had some good results against strong opposition, so we’ve been pleased with the lads so far. We had that surprise element last year, and people didn’t really figure it out until 10-15 games in and we were so consistent. I expect we might be a bit of a scalp for people, but we don’t mind it. It means the lads will have to be dedicated and focussed to get those results,” said Herron.
“All in all we can’t wait to get started and see how much we’ve improved since last year. Reaching the Alliance Premier was a dream for this club when we first set out, and we have the power in our hands to make it happen this season, so we’ll be asking the lads to stretch themselves, and who knows what could happen.”
“Those champagne moments at the end of last year don’t come around often, so it’s up to the lads to try and replicate them again, albeit a much tougher challenge again. We’re looking forward to some more bumper turnouts at Armstrong this year too,” he said, after crowds topped the three-figure mark on a number of occasions last term.
“I think it will be difficult - we’re expecting some more physical battles and the organisation and tactical set ups to be more strategic, but we’re looking forward to the challenge.”
“We’ve had a really good pre-season, training and friendly-wise. We’ve had some good results against strong opposition, so we’ve been pleased with the lads so far. We had that surprise element last year, and people didn’t really figure it out until 10-15 games in and we were so consistent. I expect we might be a bit of a scalp for people, but we don’t mind it. It means the lads will have to be dedicated and focussed to get those results,” said Herron.
“All in all we can’t wait to get started and see how much we’ve improved since last year. Reaching the Alliance Premier was a dream for this club when we first set out, and we have the power in our hands to make it happen this season, so we’ll be asking the lads to stretch themselves, and who knows what could happen.”
“Those champagne moments at the end of last year don’t come around often, so it’s up to the lads to try and replicate them again, albeit a much tougher challenge again. We’re looking forward to some more bumper turnouts at Armstrong this year too,” he said, after crowds topped the three-figure mark on a number of occasions last term.
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