Last Tuesday came as a shock not just to me personally but to everyone who follows Welsh football. Andy has always had the full support of the club ever since he arrived and has always had 100% backing from myself. I for one and the club, have never bad mouthed Andy or gone behind his back on any decisions. Some of you will not be aware that I actually convinced Andy to stay on as manager when we returned to the Welsh Premier League and when times were hard, still believed in Andy and his staff. Even to this day, that has not changed as Andy is a very talented, motivated and driven individual, who has brought success to the club and will continue to bring success to other clubs. I would now like to personally thank Andy for everything that he has done for the club and for me personally, working closely together on a daily basis has helped me understand the needs around a football club on and off the field.
I would also like to thank Simon Dyer for all of his efforts over the last few years and once again, it has been a privilege to learn from Simon with all the experience that he has. I hope that we will cross paths in the future.
It is also with regret that we lose Wyn Edwards, the clubs GK coach, who has been an integral part of this club from when I set up the academy 4 years ago. I am saddened to see Wyn leave but as a volunteer like the rest of us, his work ethic, commitment and dedication to the club was second to none. I thank Wyn for everything that he has done.
With last week’s activity taking place in such a short period of time, actions had to be taken for the short term plan with respect to how we adhere to FAW guidelines within Tier 2 and our application for Tier 1 football in Wales. For all of you that are not aware, the club must have first team coaches in place who hold the UEFA A licence or who are currently undertaking the UEFA A course. With this in mind and with the club coming first, I had to fill this gap for an interim period along with a a team of coaches, who will undoubtedly work tirelessly with our great players that we have at the club. It was never my intention to be in this position but it is what it is, as they say. As I said earlier, the club comes first and this is how the club moves on with the coaching staff to be announced this week.
The club will not rush into making a decision on the future of the management team and therefore, we will advertise the vacant positions for the month of November and interview through December. The new management team will definitely be in place for the first game in 2020. This will give us the right amount of time to appoint the right person to our ambitious club.
I have seen some negative press stating that the club is not ambitious. I totally refute these comments and the reasons below will state why.
4 years ago, I created an academy at our club, which is now thriving at the following age groups: U8/9/10/11/12/13/14/15/16/19’s. I and the club are more than happy with what we have provided and continue to provide for ALL children/teenagers in Carmarthenshire. The academy coaches were taken from local teams and given coach education paid for by our club. In return, the coaches used this new knowledge to coach our academy players but also players at their local clubs. The rewards would not only benefit us as the Town club but also the clubs that participate in the Carmarthenshire league. This is ambition.
This year, a new academy director Jonathan Garcia, has taken over from myself and now we as a club have a link with the local college, Coleg Sir Gar. Jonathan has already had a positive impact and this year we have a new U18 side, that play in the West Wales Youth league, helping bridge the gap between U16 and U19 football. I have also had talks with the college about an education program in which 16-19 year olds who leave school with not the results that they hoped for, can start a program where they work to degree level. We are hoping for this to start September 2020. This is ambition.
In 2017, the club made the decision to apply for the Tier 1 licence of which we successfully achieved. At the time, people stated that we wouldn’t and couldn’t achieve this but we did. In 2018, we entered the Welsh Premier League and although results on the field did not go our way, results off the field surely did and I along with our board and committee learnt quite a lot on a significantly short period. We as a club via the FAW held the semi final of the Welsh Youth Cup between Swansea City and Cardiff City and also the women’s cup final at Stebonheath, which all received plaudits from everyone involved in Welsh football. We did also have two Welsh U19 international v Azerbaijan of which were cancelled in September. We are seeking to hold more in the near future. This is ambition.
Off the field, we have a board of directors and a president who are dedicated and committed to this club. We have a committee of volunteers including the girls in the cafe, who are always on hand on match days and between games, ensuring that operations off the field are at the highest standards possible. Although, it has been the same people who undertake most tasks in the club, the amount of people who have come forward to be on our committee this year, is a true indication of where the club is going. This is ambition.
Over the next days, I will be meeting with personnel to discuss the positives that are within the club and working hard to put a structure in place that now links the academy directly to the first team. It is the clubs ambition to give local players, old and new via the academy, the opportunity to play on our superb facility at Stebonheath, maintained by Eddie Donne. This pitch is definitely one of the best grass pitches in Wales.
Lastly, I thank our existing players who are stuck in the middle but are more determined than ever to work hard and embrace the challenges that lie ahead. Our players are a unique group who always go out to perform and do not make excuses when something goes against them. I along with the management team are looking forward to this new challenge, which started last Saturday and I have no doubt that these boys are going to continue to work hard and produce results as we go through this change.
Thank you to all of the messages of support received so far for the players and the club and we will all continue to work tirelessly, to get everything right, on and off the field.
Wayne Stephens
Head of Coaching
