John Excited by Season Ahead

Following yesterday’s appointment of Barry Ferguson as the club’s new head coach, Clyde chairman John Alexander spoke to the official website to give some further thoughts on the move.

He started by confirming that Ferguson has signed a three-year contract:-

“During our conversations with Barry it became clear that we had the same objective; getting Clyde into the Championship. That can’t be achieved on a short contract so it made sense for both parties to commit to a three-year term.

“We also wanted to continue the stability we had by having Jim (Duffy) at the club for several years previously.”

John explained that a careful selection was made from a number of candidates:-

“We ran a thorough recruitment process and everyone was treated in exactly the same way. We had a good group of candidates, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. Our ability to support the areas of weakness was one of the deciding factors.

“All of them were presented with the exact same information on personal terms and player budget, with the only variable being the contract term.”

John outlined some of the club’s rationale in selecting Barry for the role:-

“We had a number of criteria and shortlisted on that basis. A desire to win and a personal ambition to have a long career were two of them and Barry clearly matched that on both counts. He came across as someone who would fit exceptionally well because of his vision for bringing all parts of the club together, with an inclusive approach to youth and community football.

“Aside from Barry, there were other high profile candidates but that didn’t come into our decision making. We had to make sure that we saw beyond that.”

John concluded, “I’m excited about the season ahead and we will do everything we can to support Barry and his coaching team.”