Baptism of fire bodes well for Wild

NEW Stockport Town boss Dave Wild says he was left “ecstatic” after his side kept the most unlikely of clean sheets in his first game in charge.

Former Northwich Victoria assistant manager Wild, 28, was named as the successor to Callum Sykes last week.

It was always going to be a tough start for the new boss, as he had to deal with the loss of most of his squad, who followed Sykes to his new job at New Mills.

In the immediate aftermath, promotionchasing City of Liverpool FC administered a 10-0 defeat to a youthful Town side.

But Wild worked wonders just 24 hours after being named the new boss, securing a goalless draw at FC Oswestry Town to get the Lions’ season back on track.

“I was beyond delighted – I was ecstatic,” said Wild.

“It was tough for me as I did not get appointed as manager until Friday morning. Training had been taken and I hadn’t met any of the players, so that in itself was a really tough ask.

“Having done a bit of digging, chatting to one or two managers locally along with Rob Clare and Dan Millen at the club, I tried to get to grips with what I had inherited.

“To go all the way down there with only one or two of my own bodies who I know I can trust straight away and draw 0-0 was absolutely fantastic.

“The work rate and effort that the lads put in left me really pleased. But that result now has to set the tone for the club going forward.”

Wild insists that after getting to know his team, the rebuilding job at Town might not be as big as he first expected after receiving such a positive response to his first team talk.

“The first thing we did was motivate, keep it positive and try and turn that mentality round in the changing room,” he said.

“I thought that was going to be a struggle to be honest, but there were a few lads who really surprised and impressed us.”

At first glance of the North West Counties Division One table, Stockport look desperately rooted to the middle of the table.

But the new manager wants to see a winning mentality put in place from day one - and hasn’t ruled out a run to the play-off places.

“We are playing for FA Cup places - we don’t want the club to have another year without the FA Cup.

“Looking at the table, we are 14 points off the play-offs with 17 games to go. Traditionally every year, one team will have a good run and will nick that bottom place, so the mentality has to be for us, ‘we can be that team.’

“But there is no pressure on the players, we just want to get set, get prepped and be ready to go from day one of next season and make a real good go of it.”