We Welsh you a Bury Christmas- Shakers boss lays out grand ambitions
Thu 23rd December 2021 | Bury | By Alex Thrower
Andy Welsh knows his Bury side have had an impressive start to the season but has tempered even his own high expectations, deciding it’s important to ‘enjoy the ride’ as they make their way up the football pyramid.
The Greater Manchester club are the only side in the North West Counties not to lose a league game yet this season, winning 14 of their 20 fixtures and sitting 2nd in the Division One North, with two games in hand over leaders Golcar United.
Welsh, who was chosen out of over 750 applicants for the manager’s role in July 2020, noted that the stop-start nature of the 2020/21 season has added extra fuel to his team’s charge so far, telling The NWCFL:
“We were disappointed about last season, this year we’ve picked up where we left off. People forget this is our first full campaign as a football club and it’s great to see it getting back on track. We don’t have our own ground which has made it difficult, despite how good Radcliffe have been to us. We’ve only had one Saturday home game so far this season!
“But to be successful you have to make sacrifices.
“The people of Bury had very little football last season and they’ve been through a lot, so that’s our motivation.”
Speaking before the announcement was made that a government-run community ownership fund has pledged to give Bury fans £1m towards buying their Gigg Lane ground, if they can raise the same figure, Welsh and the club's supporters know this potentially gives hope towards the team ending its current groundshare with Radcliffe.
The former Scotland U19 midfielder was previously at the helm of Northern Premier League club Ossett United who he led to a respectable 4th placed finish in 2019. He also oversaw the Sheepicorns holding the best defensive record in their league, a record which he can also currently boast with Bury- although it should be said Holker Old Boys share this record with 22 league goals conceded. Welsh was fast to recognise this achievement but is well aware about where his team must improve.
“We are solid at the back, and that’s a fantastic statistic, but the one thing I’ve been disappointed about is that we’ve conceded sloppy goals. It took us a long time to get a clean sheet this season and that wasn’t because we were wide open, it was due to us making silly mistakes. But Jake Kenny and our keeper Jack Atkinson have been great at solidifying that defence.
“We’ve also scored over 70 goals this campaign and they’ve come from all over the pitch- which is great. There’s no reliance on one player, if it’s not Lewis (Gilboy), it’ll be Aidan Chippendale or someone else in a very competitive attacking line.
“Losing 4-1 at Abbey Hey in the FA Vase doesn’t define us as a team. They were fantastic on the day and I won’t lie that the defeat hurt me. As a club, I believe we’ve played 36 games and only lost three so far- but we’ve also not won anything yet. We want to top leagues, get promotions, and I was gutted because I wanted to go on and win the Vase!”
Bury reacted well to that defeat, going on to defeat play-off hunting Nelson 2-1 at Neuven Stadium, and Manchester-born Welsh has made no secret of his managerial ambitions. Having played for clubs in the EFL including Stockport County, Yeovil Town and Leicester City, the 38-year-old knows the hard work required to make it at the top.
“My dream is to manage as high up as the levels I got to as a player. I was part of a side that won the Championship at Sunderland and my full focus is on winning games- that’s all that really matters. Hopefully I can get Bury as high up as possible, but I don’t want to get carried away by making targets, we’ve got to embrace where we’re at which is in a fantastic league with some fantastic people.
“People may turn around and say Bury should be doing this and that, with a huge budget. But I would say it’s a sustainable budget with a big focus on bringing youth through and I believe the whole squad we have can continue to be with us for far longer than just a season.
“As long as we continue to respect people, work hard and not get carried away too early, we can all enjoy the ride moving in the right direction.”
We Welsh you a Bury Christmas- Shakers boss lays out grand ambitions
Thu 23rd December 2021 | Bury
By Alex Thrower
Andy Welsh knows his Bury side have had an impressive start to the season but has tempered even his own high expectations, deciding it’s important to ‘enjoy the ride’ as they make their way up the football pyramid.
The Greater Manchester club are the only side in the North West Counties not to lose a league game yet this season, winning 14 of their 20 fixtures and sitting 2nd in the Division One North, with two games in hand over leaders Golcar United.
Welsh, who was chosen out of over 750 applicants for the manager’s role in July 2020, noted that the stop-start nature of the 2020/21 season has added extra fuel to his team’s charge so far, telling The NWCFL:
“We were disappointed about last season, this year we’ve picked up where we left off. People forget this is our first full campaign as a football club and it’s great to see it getting back on track. We don’t have our own ground which has made it difficult, despite how good Radcliffe have been to us. We’ve only had one Saturday home game so far this season!
“But to be successful you have to make sacrifices.
“The people of Bury had very little football last season and they’ve been through a lot, so that’s our motivation.”
Speaking before the announcement was made that a government-run community ownership fund has pledged to give Bury fans £1m towards buying their Gigg Lane ground, if they can raise the same figure, Welsh and the club's supporters know this potentially gives hope towards the team ending its current groundshare with Radcliffe.
The former Scotland U19 midfielder was previously at the helm of Northern Premier League club Ossett United who he led to a respectable 4th placed finish in 2019. He also oversaw the Sheepicorns holding the best defensive record in their league, a record which he can also currently boast with Bury- although it should be said Holker Old Boys share this record with 22 league goals conceded. Welsh was fast to recognise this achievement but is well aware about where his team must improve.
“We are solid at the back, and that’s a fantastic statistic, but the one thing I’ve been disappointed about is that we’ve conceded sloppy goals. It took us a long time to get a clean sheet this season and that wasn’t because we were wide open, it was due to us making silly mistakes. But Jake Kenny and our keeper Jack Atkinson have been great at solidifying that defence.
“We’ve also scored over 70 goals this campaign and they’ve come from all over the pitch- which is great. There’s no reliance on one player, if it’s not Lewis (Gilboy), it’ll be Aidan Chippendale or someone else in a very competitive attacking line.
“Losing 4-1 at Abbey Hey in the FA Vase doesn’t define us as a team. They were fantastic on the day and I won’t lie that the defeat hurt me. As a club, I believe we’ve played 36 games and only lost three so far- but we’ve also not won anything yet. We want to top leagues, get promotions, and I was gutted because I wanted to go on and win the Vase!”
Bury reacted well to that defeat, going on to defeat play-off hunting Nelson 2-1 at Neuven Stadium, and Manchester-born Welsh has made no secret of his managerial ambitions. Having played for clubs in the EFL including Stockport County, Yeovil Town and Leicester City, the 38-year-old knows the hard work required to make it at the top.
“My dream is to manage as high up as the levels I got to as a player. I was part of a side that won the Championship at Sunderland and my full focus is on winning games- that’s all that really matters. Hopefully I can get Bury as high up as possible, but I don’t want to get carried away by making targets, we’ve got to embrace where we’re at which is in a fantastic league with some fantastic people.
“People may turn around and say Bury should be doing this and that, with a huge budget. But I would say it’s a sustainable budget with a big focus on bringing youth through and I believe the whole squad we have can continue to be with us for far longer than just a season.
“As long as we continue to respect people, work hard and not get carried away too early, we can all enjoy the ride moving in the right direction.”
