RONNIE GLAVIN looked forward to his Wakefield side’s pre-season friendly clash against Town tomorrow with the promise: “My lads won’t take a back seat.”
The Scottish manager who worked wonders with the club when they were called Emley and played at the Welfare Ground has been back at the helm since September 2007.
Tight finances at College Grove mean the 59-year-old ex-Celtic, Barnsley and Scotland ace has been forced to put the emphasis on youth, leading to inevitable inconsistency in their performances.
But with the rump of the squad together for two seasons and ex-Town striker Tom Denton back in tow, he’s hoping for a bright Evo-Stik (Northern Premier) League First Division campaign.
“I knew the situation when I returned,” said Glavin, who took the club to the third round of the FA Cup in 1998 and the brink of promotion to the Conference in 2001.
“It was a different kind of challenge, all about building something up, and we put the emphasis on the kids, building up a strong Under 19 side, then adding an Under 18 team.
“We spend a lot of time watching junior games and bringing players into our set-up, and I really enjoy the coaching side of things.
“The players who join this club know that by working hard, they will get a chance of making quick progress to the first team.
“And if you look at the likes of (full-back) Aidan Morris and (striker) Danny South, both have played more than 70 games and are still only 18.
“Of course, when you have a lot of young lads, there will be ups and downs, but there were certainly times last season when things looked to be coming together.
“Their fitness levels are first class, and their hunger for the game is refreshing, and while Huddersfield will clearly be above us technically, we’ll be looking to give them a decent test.”
Denton was on target for Town in last pre-season’s 1-0 win at College Grove, where Wakefield moved in 2006 after six years’ groundsharing with rugby league club Wakefield Trinity Wildcats.
Glavin was quick to snap up the tall striker after he agreed settlement of a Town contract which still had a season to run.
And he’s confident Denton, who has signed a two-year deal with Wakefield, will do the business after seeing him notch 22 goals in 31 games in two loan spells back at the club.
“It’s disappointing things didn’t work out for Denzil, but he’s still only 20 and has a lot of football in front of him,” said Glavin, who coached at Barnsley and managed Worksop inbetween leaving Wakefield in 2003 and returning.
The planned clash between Town and Wakefield’s academy sides has been postponed, with the home youngsters now taking on Worsborough Bridge in the curtain-raiser.
