Bathgate Thistle boss Gordon Wilson says his first steps into management have been ‘an eye-opener’ but admits he’s loving every minute.
Wilson made the step up from coach in January after replacing Andy Malone in the Creamery Park hotseat and he
says that he is determined to help the Jags start climbing up the East of Scotland ladder.
Thistle have experienced a challenging few years, but the new man in charge believes that the club have everything in place to turn things around.
He said: “It’s certainly been different and challenging. It’s a bit of an eye-opener to be honest, but I’m really enjoying it.
“I’ve been doing coaching for a wee while but being the manager brings with it all the other things – the phone constantly going, dealing with players and other teams, trying to arrange friendlies things like that.
“We’ve started to put a couple of decent results together as well, which obviously helps, and that’s helped the mentality of the players change.
“We got narrowly beaten by a team two divisions above us at the weekend and they’re all disappointed. That shows that there’s confidence and belief within the group.
“Earlier in the season when I was coaching it was honestly brilliant to watch them in training at times, but they just couldn’t translate that into games. There’s signs of that now.”
Bathgate enjoyed a rich history within the Junior game but sit in the lower reaches of the senior pyramid since making the move.
But Wilson is adamant that the club can enjoy a bright future, adding: “Next season we want to be challenging
for promotion and pushing the club forward.
“I think that it was actually a very good time to come in because it gives me half a season to see what’s here and work towards next season. I said when I took the job that every player will be given a chance to prove their ability and I think I’ve stuck to that so far.
“It’s a really good bunch of guys to manage and coach because they are all willing to work so hard and listen and take things on board.”
He added: “I feel like the club’s a bit of a sleeping giant. They were usually in the higher leagues in the Juniors and
the ambition has to be to get back to that level.”
Wilson added: “The committee have been terrific and they deserve success because they manage the club
in the right way and the facilities are great - the pitch is unbelievable.
“Everyone behind the scenes at this club deserves to be at a higher level so the aim on the park is for myself,
the coaching staff and the players to try and make that happen but it will take time.”
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