Deveronvale
Last month Football Focus spoke to the Scott Anderson, manager of Highland League side, Deveronvale. Scott played for the club in various different spells between 1989 and 2005 and has been involved in managing the first team since the end of the 2007/8 season.
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| Princess Royal Park - The home of Deveronvale FC |
Scott is quick to dispel claims that the Highland League is lagging behind the professional Scottish leagues not only in terms of fanbase, but facilities-wise too. “Our facilities are often commented on as better than some Scottish 1st Division clubs and we have a solid fan base attracting some of the best attendances in the Highland League. It is a very competitive league that is well supported and I can see it continue to be a strong league in the years to come.”
Some clubs around the country spend all their money on maintaining their first team but Scott is proud that Deveronvale spend a lot of time and effort on their youth system, especially now as rewards are being reaped. “We have put a strong emphasis in our youth development over the last few seasons and we are now bearing fruit with this. This season we introduced six of our young players throughout the course of the season and they have ended up being up there as our most used players. They have come through our under 19 side, onto our under 21s and have now established themselves as first team players. We at Deveronvale Football Club feel it is the way forward to produce our own players and we will look to continue this in the seasons ahead.
With the current crop of youngsters beginning to be integrated into the first team, Scott is hopeful of another successful season next term. Deveronvale finished second in the Highland League this season and there is no reason why the club cannot go one better next time around. “After coming so close to the title this season just past, we hope to again be up there challenging next year.”
Despite only falling to First Division side Ross County in the Scottish Cup third round this season, Scott also wants to see an improvement in the big competition and others. “Our cup form has not been great over the last few seasons and we want to rectify that this year. We hope that we continue to see development from the team and players, and we look forward to another big test this season.”
Off the park, Deveronvale have some fantastic facilities, but Scott wants work to continue improving them and believes this will help lead his side to further success in the future. Although he confesses bringing money into the club is the main obstacle for this development. “We are a leading club in terms of our facilities and structure and we want to continue to be up the top end challenging every season. We will continue to encourage and develop our young local players and strive to bring some silverware back to the club in the coming seasons. The addition of an enclosure is hoped, better floodlighting and other minor improvements to comply with Club Licensing criteria. As with many clubs, we have to work hard every year to make ends meet and this is done with help from all our sponsors.”
written by Will Lyon
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