New Deveronvale boss Garry Wood aims to bring the fans back to Princess Royal Park and make the club a force once again
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
New Deveronvale manager Garry Wood wants to bring the crowds back to Princess Royal Park and restore the Banff club as one of the Highland League’s bigger clubs.
Wood (36) was appointed as Vale’s player boss on Wednesday, and will sign a three-year deal with the aim of pushing the club away from the league’s basement zone.
Vale finished third-from-bottom last season and second-bottom the year before that, and former Caley Thistle, Ross County and Montrose striker Wood is determined to be a success in his first managerial job.
“They have obviously been underachieving, there’s no getting away from that,” said the new manager on Vale’s recent performances.
“They’ve been down at the bottom of the league and they have had harder times of late as well so I am under no illusion of where I am at.
“There are new board members and a new chairman in place and when I met them they were very ambitious with their plans going forward, and that is something I can buy into.
“First of all I want to go and meet the squad, see what they are like personally as well as on the pitch. I have my own ideas and I will certainly be looking to add people to the team to bring them on.
“There’s a lot of young players in the current squad so I will be looking to get some experienced guys in to help them. That will only help them and create a competitive environment to improve the team’s performances and get them up the league.
“You saw under the Gregg Carrol era, the crowds Vale got in those days and I firmly believe if we get a successful team on the park that the fans will buy into that and we could become a big club again.
“That’s certainly the aim, and of course it won’t happen overnight so I’m under no illusions on that front but certainly I want to make strides towards that.”
Previous Vale manager Craig Stewart stepped down in March, with former players Grant Noble and Graeme Watt taking over interim charge until the end of the campaign.
Wood finished last season as a player with Banks o’ Dee, netting ten goals since his mid-season move from Inverurie Locos.
He started his playing career more than 20 years ago at Elgin City, making the switch to Inverness in the Premier Division for three years.
At Ross County he enjoyed great success, winning the Challenge Cup and reaching the Scottish Cup final.
A five-year stint at Montrose followed, then he dropped down a level for his first taste of Highland League football at Formartine United where he won every cup but the league title escaped him. Spells at Brechin City, Inverurie and Dee came next and he plans to keep his boots on for now at Deveronvale.
“I understand where the club is right now. I’ve come from Banks o’ Dee who were near the top end of the league so I do expect to play in the short term but in the longer term, try and phase myself out.
“I’m 36, and I always said I would play til I’m 40 but this might end it a bit more prematurely, but you never know.
“I am going to try to continue playing. It will depend on what I see. If the players are better than me then I won’t be playing.”
Wood is currently negotiating his backroom staff at Vale. “There will be other guys coming in but nothing is confirmed yet, I am working on it and I will be looking to add staff, the whole shooting match to be honest.
“Most of the old coaching regime has left so it is a blank canvas which is a good thing to bring in fresh ideas.”
On his future plans, Wood is determined not to accept a Vale team struggling at the wrong end of the table.
“I’m big on progression and improving from that, but in the same respect I want to demand better standards.
“For most of my career I have played at the top end of leagues and I still want to have that winning mentality. It’s easy to get into bad habits when you are losing every week so I need to make sure I’m picking the guys up and ensuring that we turn that mentality around to try and be more successful on the pitch.
“Coaching is one of my big passions. I am glad there’s a lot of good young players here with potential, guys I am looking forward to working with on the training pitch to try and make them better players and that will help Vale become a better team. That works hand-in-hand.
“The new chairman (Aaron Lorimer) seems ambitious as do the rest of the board and it is an exciting time for the club and a good time for me to get the job as opposed to where the club has been in recent years.
“I just need to try and deliver now.”
