Man about the Hoose delighted to be gaffer
‘Proud’ Hendry has Fauldhouse in his blood
New Fauldhouse United boss Colin Hendry’s earliest memories are of watching the Hoose.
So it’s no surprise that the born and bred Fauldhouse man admits he’s ‘incredibly proud’ to have taken on the managerial position at his local club.
The 44-year-old has had a tremendous start to life in charge, following up last week’s 3-1 win over Kirkcaldy and Dysart, with a sensational 9-1 thumping of Edinburgh College at the weekend.
That victory saw them climb off the foot of the East of Scotland Conference X table.
Declan McDonald netted four, with Connor Scullion on the scoresheet twice.
Ally Morgan, Liam Scullion and Lee Marshall also found the net as the new gaffer made his home debut.
Saturday’s win was a far cry from their 9-0 loss to Whitburn a few weeks ago, with Hendry admitting the plight of the club ‘hurt’ as he bids to turn things around.
Speaking to the Courier, he said: “I’m Fauldhouse born and bred. I supported them as a boy, my dad played for them and my mum used to sell the pies.
“Some of my earliest memories were running about the pitch kicking a ball and watching the team.
“The club’s been close to my heart all my life.
“It’s great to be back and I’m looking forward to the challenge. We want to be pushing up the league and you can only do that by winning games.
“We’ve had a good start and after you pick up some wins, the confidence starts to build and you can go on a wee run.
“There’s plenty of games left in this season to get us in a decent position come the end of it if we can get things right.”
He added: “It hurt me to see the team struggling and that’s why I’m back. I want to put it right. That’s certainly the aim, anyway.
“All I can do is my best and then let’s see where that leads.”
Hendry was part of the coaching team under Davie Cowan that secured back-to-back promotions into the top flight of the East Region Juniors a few seasons ago and hopes he can guide them back up the divisions – although he’s not setting his sights too far in the future.
He added: “The potential is there. We were in the top division in the East Juniors fairly recently so there’s no reason why we can’t climb up the leagues.
“The committee have given me great support and I’ve got a brilliant coaching and backroom team around me.
“It’s about taking small steps and not getting carried away and thinking too far in front but if you can keep picking up points then you’ll obviously have a team that is doing well.
“There’s a lot of talented players in the squad and I’ve signed seven from Fauldhouse Amateurs, but they would not be here if they weren’t good enough.
“The potential is there within the team and hopefully I can be the one that helps them get up the table.”
Hendry will be assisted by James McAllister, while fellow coaches Sean Callaghan and Steph McCafferty are also Fauldhouse guys.
That’s resulted in more interest around the village, something the boss hopes will translate into bigger crowds at Park View on a Saturday afternoon.
He said: “There’s been folk who don’t normally go to games who have said they’ll come along and hopefully we can keep them coming.
“Myself, Sean Callaghan and Steph McCafferty are all Fauldhouse guys, so maybe if that can get some more folk at the games, it’s a good thing.
“The facilities are great and the park’s one of the best. It would be a crime not to try and play football on it.
“We want the people in the village to want to watch us and that comes about by playing entertaining football and winning games.
“That’s the aim first and foremost and I’m confident that we can do that.”