From Grassroots & Beyond...

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AUGUST 2015

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MATCHES:

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My first month as manager got underway with a good win away against Marienlyst. We took the lead through Jesper Christiansen and after our opposition were reduced to ten men midway through the second half, Bakary Bojan doubled our tally with fifteen minutes left. The visitors did pull a goal back, but we hung on. Up next was a game in the Danish Cup against lower league opposition. With Mourad El Bariakl equalising in stoppage time, the game went to extra time and as both sides couldn't find the break through, we went to penalties. Unfortunately, we were knocked out, as Bakary Bojan missed his kick and B1909 went onto score all theirs.
It was back to league action, following our cup loss and we bounced back with a superb win over Naesby. Goals from Jesper Christiansen and Mourad El Bariakl sealed the three points. An away trip to Dalum saw us beaten for the first time in the league and we dropped more points a week later, as we threw away the lead to draw with Fremad Amager.

TABLE:

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I'm pleased to see us sitting in 2nd place, but it's very early days and we'll have to make sure we defend better in our upcoming games.

NEW SIGNINGS:

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Mikkel Christensen - Joins on loan from SonderjyskE for the season.

Malte Jurgensen - Joins for the season on loan from FC Midtylland

Amir Al-Ammari - Joins on season loan from Brondby IF

I needed to increase the quality in the squad and I'm very pleased to add these three to the team for the remainder of the season. Al-Ammari has been called up to the Swedish U21 side since joining, so I'm expecting big things from him throughout the campaign.
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Awesome stuff so far man, can't wait to see how you get on :)
 
SEPTEMBER 2015

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MATCHES:

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Overall a fairly pleasing month. We comfortably beat Nykobing FC as our good away form continued. This was then followed by two draws, firstly against title favourites Frem, who equalised in the closing stages and then B93, where we again led, but couldn't hold on. The month ended with a disappointing loss against Marienlyst, in another game where we struggled in front of our home fans.

TABLE:

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We drop down to 3rd place, but can go top if we win our game in hand. The league is very close and we will have to make sure we are consistent in our remaining games.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH:

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Nicolai Jorgensen - He's been in superb form of late and if he continues to develop like he has been doing, we'll have to be-careful of bigger clubs wanting to steal him from us.
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OCTOBER 2015

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MATCHES:

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Our dismal run of not winning a game continued in the first couple of weeks, as we only pick up two points from six available. It looked like that run was going to continue, as we were two nil down to Fremad Amager at half time, but following a bit of encouragement, we came out and ran riot in the second half. We then faced league leaders Frem in our final game game of October and we matched them for most of the match, only to be beaten in the closing stages to a thirty yard strike.

TABLE:

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So we are still in the top four and with two games remaining, it's still in our hands to seal a place in the promotion play offs at the end of the season. How the promotion/relegation play offs work, will be revealed once I know where we will be playing.

INJURY NEWS:

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Jesper Christiansen has been ruled out for 4/5 weeks with sprained foot. Hopefully we won't miss our main goal scoring threat, as we enter a very important stage of the season.
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NOVEMBER 2015

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MATCHES:

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We knew this month would decide if we'd be playing in the promotion stages and we didn't disappoint. Two wins from two, which includes our biggest ever win against Nykobing FC. The game against B 93 was a mini decider, with us needing a win or draw to qualify. A loss would've meant we'd be playing in the relegation stage, but thankfully we did enough.

TABLE:

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We qualify for the promotion stages by finishing in second place. I'm very happy with our achievements in the league and to end up a point behind Frem, showed that we over achieved massively. In the second half of the season, I changed tactic to a more adventurous 4231 and it worked to our advantage.

INJURY NEWS:

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Fresh from scoring a hat trick in our six nil win against Nykobing FC, Anders Staldgaard suffered a hip injury. We've decided to send him to a specialist and he'll be out for three months.
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MID-SEASON BREAK

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MID-SEASON BREAK:

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Having only been in the country for a few months, the mid-season break has allowed me to look back at our progress, since I joined. The only negative was going out in the Danish Cup to non-league opposition, as I was hoping to test myself against one of the bigger clubs in Denmark.
Aside from the Danish Cup, I'm delighted with how we've performed in the league to date, especially considering we were one of the favourites for relegation at the start of the season. Despite having no transfer or wage budget, I've had to rely on loan signings and will again be looking to add in the transfer window, as we prepare for the promotion stages.

PROMOTION STAGES:

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This is how the second division promotion stage looks like, before we get underway in March 2016. Our results against the other teams promoted from the same league we were in get carried over, that's why we've played six games. So we have sixteen games to aim to finish in the top three and gain promotion to the first division.
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Good luck in the promotion stage mate - enjoying seeing a story in a league with different rules such as this.
 
JOB SPECULATION

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SPECULATION:

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All the hard work I've put in since joining FC Svendborg hasn't gone unnoticed. Clearly I'd would like interest from much bigger clubs and hopefully that will happen in the future.
Though many from the outside won't consider this an interesting offer, the past six months working away from my wife and family has been very challenging. So I'll need to sit down and think long and hard about my next step and if it's worthwhile following up the speculation.

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After long consideration I decided to apply for the Albion Rovers job. They currently play in a division with a higher reputation than where I am managing at the moment, so if I want to progress as a manager, I felt it only right to sit down and discuss what Pat Gillooly was offering.
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A NEW CHAPTER

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I traveled over to Scotland for the interview with Albion Rovers the next day. And after a good two hour meeting with the chairman, Pat Gillooly, I made my way to the hotel they booked for me and met up with my wife, who took time off from her work to support me, to wait for a decision.
Mr Gillooly made it clear they wanted a quick appointment, as they were due to play Stenhousmuir in the league at the weekend, so wanted a new man in charge for then.
I felt the interview went well and Mr Gillooly made me feel very welcome, as he explained what the board and himself expected this season. The media were predicting them to finish 10th, which was bottom of the league, but previous manager Darren Young has led them to a very respectable 5th position and just outside the play off places, which made me wonder why he was sacked!

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About an hour had passed since I had my interview and we were sat in the hotel lobby, when my phone went off. I answered and it was Mr Gillooly. " Hi Andy, It's Pat here. Thank you for coming over to meet with us. Myself and the board have been very impressed with how you came across and the work you've done with a limited budget over in Denmark. So we'd like to offer you the job as manager of Albion Rovers. " I froze for a split second, as I never really expect to be offered the job, especially considering their were a couple other managers interested and who had more experience than myself. I held the phone to my chest and whispered to my wife that I'd been offered the job. " Take it, we'll be closer to each other and I can look to relocate if needed. " she answered. Upon hearing that reply and always being a family man, I didn't keep Mr Gillooly waiting any longer. " Yes, I'd like to accept the job. I look forward to getting started. " I responded.

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Within minutes of coming off the phone, I received an email stating that compensation had been agreed with FC Svendborg and that I'd begin work immediately with Albion Rovers. Before doing anything else, I contacted Mr Adam Ringsby-Brandt to thank him for the opportunity to start my managerial adventure and wished him and the the club all the best for the future. I explained to him that being closer to my wife was a big factor in my decision and also, I felt with the financial restrictions I'd taken the club as far as I possibly could.

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I signed the two year deal at the training ground later on that evening. Along, with the security of a longer term deal than what I was on at FC Svendborg, I also doubled my wages to £400 per week too. Having always been keen on working with young talented players, I agreed that I would look to continue that philosophy during my time here.
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DECEMBER 2015

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MATCHES:

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My first month in charge saw us end December unbeaten. Though the score line doesn't suggest it, we comfortably beat bottom of the table Stenhousemuir, before being denied in the closing stages against second placed Forfar at home a week later. To end the month we beat Cowdenbeath despite being reduced to ten men early in the first half.

TABLE:

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We move into thrid place and a play off position following our seven points we picked up. It looks like it'll be between seven teams who'll battle it our for the three play off places, as Dunfermline look to be running away with the title.

LINK:

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The players are playing well above their potential currently and with not a lot of interest from players willing to join us, I approached the board to see if we could set up a link, to loan players who can give me more options throughout the squad.
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JANUARY 2016

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MATCHES:

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January got underway with a good win over our biggest rivals Airdrie, thanks to a double by leadind scorer Andrew Barrowman. We then faced a tricky tie in the Scottish Cup, when we played our parent club Inverness CT and their quality shone through, which will see them play Rangers in the next round. The Dunfermline game saw us lose our first game since I took over and they showed why they will probably win the league, due to the high standard of players they have in their squad. Four points in our last two games saw us get back on track in the league.

TABLE:

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SPONSORSHIP NEWS:

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NEW SIGNINGS:

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I needed to add some quality to the squad and the January transfer window allowed me to bring in some new additions on loan. I raided Celtic for two of their Under 20 players, bringing in defender Josh Kerr and midfielder Mark Hill. Next in through the door was Blackburn Rovers' young forward Callum Hendry, then followed a deadline day signing when Danny Stoney signed from Livingston.
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FEBRUARY 2016

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MATCHES:

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February was a very good month indeed. Despite losing to bottom of the table Stenhousemuir, we bounced back in our last game against Forfar, with Paul Willis scoring in the closing stages to seal the win. The standout result was probably, the win against Stranraer, when with ten minutes to go we were one nil down, but Callum Hendry scored his first two goals for the club and Danny Stoney completed the win in stoppage time.

TABLE:

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We stay in 4th position, but are level on points with Ayr and Forfar who sit in 2nd and 3rd respectively. If we continue our recent form, a play off place should be in our hands, as there are eight points between us and Cowdenbeath in 5th place.

AWARDS:

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I have to give credit to the players for my manager of the month award. They've been in fantastic form of late and that's down to the new loan signings mainly, as they've brought in the quality we've been missing earlier on in the season.
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