It’s been quite an eventful week at Weymouth FC.
After suffering a 3-0 defeat at Wimborne Town on Monday, their third loss from the opening five Pitching In Southern League Premier South games, Paul Maitland resigned as Chairman and it was quickly followed by the departure of manager, Warren Feeney.
Ralph Ricardo was then announced as Interim Chairman before former favourite, Steve Claridge, returned to the managerial hot-seat with the brief of reviving the fortunes of the club.
“I’m incredibly happy to be back here,” Claridge told his club’s media. “I’ve spent half my life here; it’s a fantastic place to be.
“This is a big club and I know what it means to the people here. I want to be able to put smiles back on faces and get things moving in the right direction again.
“We’re not going to win every game, but what we will be is organised, structured and give everything we have for the cause.
“The players were full of intensity and passion during my first training session with them and if they apply themselves like this in games, we will be okay.
“I’d like to think that I’ll quickly get an understanding of what is required here. I want to have a structure and system in place where everyone understands their role and works hard.
“Sometimes in football you can over-complicate things, so I want a group of players here who know exactly how we want to play with and without the ball and are aware of the responsibility that comes with representing this fantastic football club.”
Claridge’s first task is an Emirates FA Cup first round qualifying clash at Tadley Calleva on Saturday.
“Yes, it’s a potential banana skin,” he admitted. “We’ve done our homework on them and we know that if we’re not at it, we’ll have problems.
“But we’ll go there and ensure that we do our jobs properly so that it can be the positive start we are looking for.”
Having suffered relegation from The National League South at the end of last season, the Dorset outfit have won just one of their opening five League games back at this level.
IMAGE: Weymouth FC
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