WOTTON: WE’RE NO MAN CITY!
Truro deny rich tag despite triple Taunton raid
DELIGHTED Truro City boss Paul Wotton hailed his fab four signings this week – and dismissed moneybags Manchester City jibes.
The White Tigers were top of Southern League Premier South when the season came to an early halt in mid-March and have shown their intent to go for glory next term with their new captures.
They’ve made a triple swoop on divisional rivals Taunton Town to bring striker Andrew ‘Rocky’ Neal, 26, midfielder Ryan Brett, 29, and defender Shane White, 30, back to Treyew Road.
Vastly experienced midfielder Ryan Dickson, 33, spent time on loan with Truro from Torquay last season and has now joined on a permanent basis after being released by the Gulls.
The four-pronged salvo will have made their Southern League rivals sit up and take notice, and may have made a few green with envy.
Former Plymouth Argyle player and assistant manager Wotton told The
NLP: “I’m delighted to sign all four. We have added good players with great experience and the overriding factor is that they have all shown a massive ambition and desire to come and play here.
“I read a couple of things saying we are the Manchester City of Non-League, but we aren’t even the Manchester City of our league.
Lots of teams have bigger budgets than us.
“The new lads haven’t come for the money. They want to improve as players and be part of the good environment we are trying to create. “We try and do things the right way and we work really hard behind the scenes. A lot of planning and preparation has gone into those signings. “We have 14 players and we will be quiet for a few weeks now. We’re pleased with the business we’ve done, but we’re a work in progress.” The signing that will have turned heads the most is that of Neal. He netted 59 goals from 80 appearances in two seasons at Taunton, finishing second in the divisional scoring chart with 16 in the season just ended – behind Truro’s Tyler Harvey, who netted 19.
Infectious
“Tyler and Rocky are very good friends off the pitch,” said former Southampton and Yeovil man Wotton. “They are Plymouth boys and they have played together before.
“However, in every signing there’s an element of risk. They were one and two this season, but it doesn’t mean they will score 50 between them next season.”
Nonetheless, Wotton is confident they can strike up a good partnership.
“Tyler is tall, a bit more of a target man, while Rocky likes to get in the box and score the ugly goals in the six-yard box,” explained the 42-year-old.
“Having met him, with social distancing, and spoken to him a few times, it was his burning ambition to come and play, improve and be part of a successful team that struck me. It wasn’t about money.
“It was really refreshing because his enthusiasm was so infectious. He got under my skin – I couldn’t not sign him. When a player like him becomes available, who wouldn’t be interested?
“We’ve got Tyler, Rocky, Alex Battle, Niall Thompson, who can also play up there, and the experience of Stewart Yetton to choose from up front.”
Wotton believes the new arrivals are a sign of the Cornwall outfit’s progress.
“It’s pleasing people now want to sign for us,” he said. “I got so many knockbacks last year it was untrue.
“We are trying to improve all the time. Football doesn’t stand still – if you don’t evolve, you get left behind.”