Football
Changes aplenty at Spa

DROITWICH Spa FC will head into the 2012/13 Midland Combination Division One season with a new management team at the helm.

Tom Goss, who stepped down as manager at the end of the 2009/10 season, returns to the club and will look after first team affairs alongside Phil Roe.

Spa head into their sixth successive year in Division One on the back of a difficult campaign last time out when they finished bottom but one, a far cry from the season before when they achieved the highest finish in the club’s history by taking eighth place.

“It was a tough season for the club last year for which there was a number of contributing factors,” Goss said.

“Injuries hit at bad times and they lost so many games by such a small margin, the goal difference at the end of the season was incredible for a club finishing in the position they did.

“But that is in the past now, as is the eighth placed finish the season before.

“Now is the chance to wipe the slate clean and go again.”

Goss, who has been head coach of the Droitwich Spa Boys and Girls FC for the last two years, only accepted the chance to return to the club last week which he admits will put them slightly behind in terms of preparation.

“We are a bit behind because of when we have come in, but we’ve had three good training sessions so far and we have a good nucleus of players here,” he said.

“There is a lot of good talent in the local area and as a club, Droitwich has always been very good at developing players and that is what we intend to keep on doing.”

Spa’s first friendly sees them travel to Broadway on Saturday before they head to Malvern seven days later as they step up their pre-season preparations.

The reshuffle at the club has been completed with Richard Goode and Ben Pheasant taking over the Reserves and Goss believes the structure of the club is well set for them to progress and do well.

“There are some very good people at this football club and that was an important part of me returning,” he said.

“When I stepped down two years ago I felt the time was right for somebody else to have a go but I also feel now I have a responsibility to the club to help out and with renewed vigour I am looking forward to the challenge.”

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