Wardie believes Wasps can win title

Iain Robertson • Published 16 Jun 2010 12:46 0 Comments

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Alloa Athletic assistant boss James Ward with Aimie Bird, of Menstrie Primary School, who won a competition in the Advertiser with the prize being coaching for her class and the chance to be pictured with the Cooperative Insurance Cup. (picture by Jan van der Merwe)

ALLOA Athletic's assistant manager James 'Wardie' Ward insists the Wasps can go one step further next season and win the Division Two title.

Ward says he and gaffer Allan Maitland wouldn't be at Recreation Park if they didn't feel that was an achievable goal.

That will be music to Wasps fans ears, who suffered the heartache of losing the league last term to local rivals Stirling Albion on the final day of a nail-biting campaign on goal difference.

Ward told Advertiser Sport, "Everyone is really confident about next season, and yes, we think we can win it, we wouldn't be here otherwise."

He added, "Last season was disappointing, but we have to learn from that. We had a taste of it and want that to continue.

"It's going to be an exciting league and every manager in the division will fancy their chances - not just the likes of Ayr, Livingston and Airdrie but Peterhead and just about every other club."

But Ward is confident Alloa are heading in the right direction and believes that when the Wasps do win promotion to the First Division they'll be in a good position to stay there.

"The club has a great board of directors - some have been there for years, and they let you get on with the job.

"Our spirit is fantastic and we're fortunate to have some of the daftest lads in the dressing room - top of the list being David Gormley - and these guys keep things lively.

"Everybody is in it together. It is a great club, with one of the best part-time set-ups in Scotland. The facilities we have will be the envy of most others at this level."

Ward and Maitland have been together - in the footballing sense - for eight years. They teamed up at Clyde before going on to lead Hamilton to promotion to the First Division in their first season.

"He's a great man manager and I have the upmost respect for him - dress sense apart. That pink jumper he wore during a game we played up at Arbroath was a shocker," joked Wardie.

When the Alloa management team took over five years ago the club was languishing at the foot of the table and staring relegation in the face, but the pair rescued things and steered the Wasps to safety via the play-offs.

Ward added, "When we came here at first, there were players in the dressing rooms on varying salaries and that caused some problems - now we have a strict wage structure with good win bonuses. It provides a great incentive, and results in a good work ethic."

Looking ahead to the future, Ward said that Wasps fans can expect to see some exciting young players coming through the clubs youth system.

Jason Thomson, who had a few first team substitute appearances last season has signed his first pro-contract, and the Wasps assistant manager says he has plenty of pace.

Ward added that under-17 strikers Scott Gallagher and Greig Smith are others currently showing promise.

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