WOTT’S GOT A BIG GULLS GIG
Squad of one welcomes new boss
NEW Torquay United manager Paul Wotton is ready for a hectic summer of squad building – after all, he’s only got one player on the books!
Defender Austen Booth is the man in question and that leaves Plymouth Argyle legend Wotton with a mammoth task following his switch from National League South divisional rivals Truro City.
Yet the 46-year-old, handpicked by the Gulls’ new owners, the Bryn Consortium, is looking at it as a glass half-full situation.
“That can be very daunting or you can look at it and think ‘I can pick the players with the right character for Torquay’,” he told The NLP. “It’s going to be a really busy time trying to sign players. Negotiations don’t get any easier these days – everyone wants to be paid fortunes!
“Every off-season is busy, though this one might be a little busier.”
It’s only a few years ago that Torquay were within a penalty shoot-out of reclaiming a place in the Football League. However, relegation from the National League in 2022-23 and a bruising campaign on and off the pitch in National League South in the season just past left the Devon club in the doldrums.
The takeover by a group of local businessmen just over a week ago has created hope that better times are just around the corner.
The Bryn Consortium have shown they mean business by snapping up Wotton on a threeyear contract and bringing in veteran manager Neil Warnock as their unpaid football advisor.
Wotton previously played under Warnock at Plymouth.
“Neil is someone I have kept in touch with throughout my career,” said Wotton. “He’s been on the phone for advice and if I had a good result, he would send a message.
“He’s a great guy and I’ve always been close with him. It’s brilliant I’ve got him as a sounding board.
“It’s an exciting time – new owner, new manager and it’s going to have to be new players as well. There’s an air of optimism, a feelgood factor after a really difficult season last year.”
It’s now a decade since Torquay were last in the Football League and Wotton’s job will be to start taking them back in that direction again.
Affinity
“It goes without saying that is everyone’s ambition, but saying it and doing it are two different things,” he said. “My hope is, first and foremost, to get a team on the pitch that the supporters can be proud of. That comes from hard work, a will to win and character. If you are doing those things, what will be will be.
“I think home games are going to be really exciting and we’ll be trying to get big crowds in.”
While Wotton is “delighted” to have joined the Plainmoor outfit, he is also proud of the work he did at Truro, including winning promotion via the Southern Premier South play-offs in 2022-23.
“Sometimes it can be an easy decision to move on, but this wasn’t,” he added. “Five years is a big chunk of someone’s life and I have a real affinity with the club. We were successful and I leave behind a really good football club with some really good players. I made some good friends there. However, things change in life and this new opportunity came up – I feel it’s the right one for me.”