Nairn County stalwart Sean Webb backs club to attract fresh faces
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SEAN Webb believes Nairn County should have little trouble attracting fresh blood as the club seek to rebuild after a fortnight of turmoil.
In the wake of upheaval in the boardroom, which saw three board members resign and the main sponsors pull out, manager Les Fridge also brought his Station Park tenure to a close.
After 12 years in the dugout, Fridge’s resignation was made official last Tuesday and leaves Nairn without a manager just three weeks before pre-season begins.
However, Webb said the fact the club has had a “relatively successful” season should leave them in a good position to entice new figures to the club. The Wee County made it to two cup finals, the North of Scotland and Highland League cups, and finished eighth in the league.
Conor Gethins, Tony Wallace, Brad Halsman and Sam Urquhart will all leave the club but a core group of players remains, while in the boardroom, Donald Matheson steps up from his role as director to interim chairman as of tomorrow.
“It’s not like the club is struggling in the bottom half – we’ve just had a relatively successful season. We’ve been in the final of two cups, so you would think it would be easier to attract people,” said Webb, who was brought to Nairn by Fridge in 2012.
“It’s been quite a successful time for the club and this is obviously a big change. The main sponsors (Narden) were a significant part of the club and I’m grateful to both them and Les for the way they’ve treated me.
“That side of the club isn’t something I would have been interested in before, in relation to the finances. I’ve had no problems in that respect and no players have come to me with any issues.
“I’m sure they won’t be short of people who want to take it over. The squad is relatively healthy. Obviously Conor (Gethins) has left along with one or two others, so we need to replace them with someone who can score goals.”
Players have been told by Matheson when to return for pre-season training and when speaking to the Inverness Courier last week, the acting chairman said while he would hope to have a new manager in charge for pre-season, there would be coaches ready to step into the breach if an appointment had not been made.
The club has been in regroup mode for the last two weeks, following the news that chairman Peter Mackintosh snr, his sons Peter jnr and Michael, who run sponsors Narden, would be leaving the club today. Fridge followed them a week later, bringing to an end his 12-year tenure with the club.
An extraordinary general meeting for shareholders will take place tonight at the Newton Hotel, while a similar gathering for fans is planned tomorrow at the British Legion Club.
Former Ross County defender Webb, who is under contract at Station Park for another year, passed on his regards to Fridge and paid tribute to his legacy at the club.
“He ran a very organised club and the behind-the-scenes setup is as close to a professional club as you can get. He’s an approachable guy and I’ve enjoyed working with him. My time at Nairn has been one of the highlights of my career,” he said.
- FIVE new directors have been appointed at Station Park in the last week. Club spokesman Graeme Macleod is the latest to join the board, following on from Ian Finlayson, Alexander Macdonald, Gillian McWilliam and Shona Devine.
