Doyle is right back at home and ready to help Ants bite
NO.1 FOR JUNIORS
JOHN DOYLE has returned to St Anthony’s as co-boss much better armed than when he patrolled the touchline three years ago as part of James McKenna’s backroom team.
Now he and Ronnie McDonald are at the helm and there’s little doubt Doyle is better equipped for putting his one hand on the Ants tiller following stints with Cambuslang Rangers, Vale of Clyde and most notably with the Rob Roy side that finished runners-up in the Super Premier Division last season.
The Rabs thought well of his coaching abilities so other than the famous old Govan club being on his doorstep, what persuaded him to return at this juncture?
Doyle said: “I have nothing but good to say about my time at Rob Roy and working closely with Maxi, Moff, terrific committee men and a great bunch of players but deep down I’ve always retained a desire to put down my own stamp as a manager.
“Right from day one, Maxi knew of my intent to be on the lookout for the right opportunity at the right club and it came during the close season when the previous St Anthony’s co-boss Tony Kane stepped down and I was then asked if I would come in and work alongside Ronnie.
“I remember coaching him as one of the experienced players here and we decided to give it a go after meeting and discussing our various ideas for the set-up needed to take St Anthony’s forward.
“They say you should never go back to a previous club in this game, but the prospect of working alongside people I know and being given time to build a team seemed far more acceptable than taking up another managerial job and stepping into unknown territory.”
One-time defensive mainstay McDonald is still registered as a St Anthony’s player and Doyle revealed his dugout partner may have to be press-ganged into action in tonight’s pre-season friendly away to Super Premier big guns Kilwinning Rangers.
HE SAID: “Ronnie and I have been busy over the past month and a bit going about the business of bringing in new players.
“We want to avoid the situation that occurred regularly last season when a shortage of numbers forced him and Tony to be out on the pitch, leaving Raymond Donnachie to run things from the side.
“Signing up a good mix of top amateurs such as Chris McLaughlin (Glenvale) along with seasoned Junior types Andy Scanlon Cambuslang Rangers and Cumnock), Lee Sichi (Kilsyth Rangers), Chris Gordon (Rossvale), as well as David Donnelly (Beith) had left us pleased with our summer transfer dealings but it’s deeply frustrating that as yet we have not had a full squad to choose from because of holiday commitments.
“Gordon grabbed a hat-trick as the guys made a most promising start by winning our first friendly match 5-1 against Stoneyburn but then we were forced into making several changes against East Kilbride Thistle last Monday night and suffered a 4-1 defeat .
“Losing in the manner we did was something of a reality check, but I should point out that EK put out a ready-made team who had all played together in the amateurs beforehand whereas several of our guys were coming together for the very first time.
“Four players arrived back from holiday and we were confident our line-up would be considerably stronger against Kilwinning.
“But another four of the guys have now flown out so it looks like Ronnie will be needed to help us out defensively.”
THE trip down to Abbey Park represents a huge step up in class for the Ants players, but Doyle believes they will acquit themselves well.
He said: “We had initially arranged to play tomorrow against Oban Saints but they called off and we were going to be without a game until Chris Strain made it known he was looking for opponents.
“They are a Super Premier outfit and their team will most likely include several big-name Juniors.
“But we will not be running scared particularly as the likes of Carlo Monti, Findlay Frye and David Winters are familiar faces from having turned out with Pollok in recent years.
“The game is a stiff test but how we as a team perform on the night is far more important than the result.”