ROGERS’ STILL SO HUNGRY!
Boss set for 25th year
LEGENDARY manager Martyn Rogers says Tiver- ton Town have recaptured their ‘mojo’.
The former Weymouth and Exeter player is enjoying his second spell at Ladysmead, having managed Tivvy from 1992 to 2010, before returning in 2014. Last season, the Devon club sat fifth in the Southern Premier South when the season was curtailed in March.
Now, Rogers is determined to put that campaign behind him and focus on the future. “We had our moans and groans back in March,” he told The NLP.
now a case of dusting our self off and getting on with it. Whenever you lose a game, you immediately look forward to the next one and that’s exactly what we’ve had to do with this.
“We’ve assembled a good squad for next season, and I like to think we will be right amongst it again at the top of the table. Until 12 games in, you can never be sure whether you will be able to complete.
“We have a new regime at the club, with a new chairman (in Ian Moorcroft) and a lot of really enthusiastic, hands-on people. There’s a really good vibe around the club at the moment; it’s a nice place to be. We feel like we have our mojo back off the pitch as well as on it.” The former Weymouth manager has already begun adding to his side, which last season scored a remarkable 69 goals in 29 games – the second highest in the division. Defender Craig Wood“It’s man has joined after eight years at Exeter City and midfielder Dan Hayfied has also arrived after a scholarship in Canada.
Rogers has been associated with the club across five decades and insists he is as excited to start next season as ever.
“We had Dan and Craig in at the same time, filling in the forms. Both of them were born in Tiverton, which is fantastic for us,” he added.
“Two quality players, both nice people and when you’ve got good lads coming in the team spirit just grow. The fans can gain a real affinity with them as well seeing as they’re local lads.
“If we can get 11 players all born in the area, then that would be just fantastic!
“We know the way we want to play; the game is about winning. You’d love to be playing flowing, attacking football but the sport is about results. We just want to win matches.
“I’m as enthusiastic as I was in 1992. There’s not better feeling than winning on a Saturday. I’ve had some great times and definitely have a few more in front of me!”
This week has been a sad one for Tiverton as under-18s coach Martin Ingram passed away. “Martin was a very energetic character who loved nothing more than helping young footballers progress to a higher level,” a club statement read.