MY PAWS ARE STILL ON GRUBBY
Bartlett ties star man to new deal
WESTON-SUPER-MARE head coach Scott Bartlett thinks his striker Dayle Grubb is the best player in the division – and he can’t believe the Seagulls have him for another two years!
Fans’ favourite Grubb, a youth product, isn’t going anywhere this summer.
Under contract until the middle of 2019, the 25-year-old is so happy with life at the Woodspring Stadium that he doesn’t need to go chasing money elsewhere.
Bartlett struggles to accept that the Seagulls have managed to keep hold of their No.10 all this time – but certainly isn’t complaining!
He said: “It’s difficult to understand in a lot of ways. For me, and for a lot of other people as well, Dayle is the best player in the National League South. He has been for a while, he’s got everything you need in a player – he’s strong, quick, powerful, committed and he scores goals.
“Quite how Weston still have him I don’t know, but I’ll take it! Usually quality players get snapped up but I think because of our location, and that he has a career off the pitch, it’s worked in our favour.
“There’s not many clubs in our area to lure Grubby away from us – and I don’t think travelling appeals to him.
Relationship
“There’s been talk about clubs coming in for him but nothing’s happened yet and from our point of view I hope it doesn’t.
“I’ve lost track of the number of managers who have come up to me after a game and asked why he’s still at our level. I guess the answer is because he loves his football here and that he’s well looked after and loved by the supporters.
“He’s only getting better but we’ve got a fair number of very talented players at Weston who we believe can play at a high level.”
They have lost one of those they had high hopes for, defender Rollin Menayse has joined League One’s Bristol Rovers.
Bartlett – who runs Forest Green Rovers’ academy as his day job – hopes Weston can profit from the move despite not being entitled to compensation for a player on noncontract with them.
“Darrell (Clarke) is a good friend of mine so I know he will be in good hands,” the Weston manager said. “He knows how important NonLeague football is – it’s where he’s from and although he knew Rovers didn’t have to, he wanted to make sure we were looked after.
“We’ve got a gentleman’s agreement in place and there’s going to be a bit of a relationship there going forward and we may be able to take on a couple of their talented young players when the time is right.
“Also Rovers are going to come to us in the pre-season – that’s big news because with their fan base, that will be worth quite a few thousand to us. That’s what it’s all about for me.”
With so much talk regarding a promotion shake-up, Bartlett believes next season could be the year that his team put in a strong play-off challenge – regardless of if it’s top five or top seven they’re aiming for.
He added: “It’s looking like an even league next year and for the first time in a while there’s no clear favourite. Many will think there’s a chance of promotion and we would love to be in the mix.”