All the latest news from Cammell Laird FC

Jun 24 2009 by James Connor, Birkenhead News

CAMMELL LAIRD FC Manager Derek Ward has continued his pre-season preparation with a couple of squad exits to contend with and the removal of one of the pre-season games from the schedule.Š

Despite the constant necessary changes Ward is upbeat and enjoying the hustle and bustle of the closed season, as well as securing at least a couple of new faces early on.

“As anticipated, apart from a week or two where there was an opportunity to gasp for breath it’s been pretty much all go.Š We have had to cancel our friendly at home against Southport that we had scheduled forŠ July 11th, we have had to give the pitch a few more days to re-couperate which is a touch disappointing but we have to take the advice from the experienced ground staff so we will look at any other options we have around that time.”

“The player merry-go-round that we always see at this time of year has been in full flow as well, we have lost Anthony Sheehan to Colwyn Bay but also over the last week or two Carl Clampitt and Alex Hay have gone the same way.Š Obviously we’re disappointed as they are good players.

“Another possible exit is Richie Whiteside, Fleetwood are interested in Richie and to be honest it’s a club that’s on his doorstep and they are offering good terms at the moment, they’ll certainly be a team to watch and fair play to Richie if he wants to be part of that.”

“There are imports as well as exports though.Š

We have signed 18 year old Mark Head from Wrexham, he is a striker/left winger with lots of potential and was rated as a real prospect there, as well as another forward player in Nicky Young.ŠNicky is a player I played alongside at Vauxhall Motors, solid player with good presence and stamina and a good player at Unibond level, he’s 33 but carries a lot of fitness and ability.Š

“Pre-season training starts on Tuesday 22nd June and we’re geared up to get the wheels in motion and press on, this has all been a learning curve for me, the administration side, player details, scouting and so on but I’m really enjoying it.

“I came in quite quickly to the management game early in the season and obviously you learn all the time, managers in the game 10,15 and 20 years will always tell you that you never stop learning in the management and coaching game and that’s certainly the case.Š One things for sure though, we intend to have a good go at Division One.”