Preston North End announced earlier in the month that they had adopted Lurgan Town Boys Club as their feeder club over in Northern Ireland. PNE Vital catches up with Lurgan Skipper, Scott Gordon.
So Scott tell us a bit about yourself?
Where to start. I began my career with Lurgan Town, moving up through the ranks until I reached U16 level. Along the way being recognised at County and International level and signing for Southampton at the age of 14. At 16 I moved across to England to play full time for the Southampton academy. An unsuccessful spell at the Saints saw me go out to Wrexham and Bristol Rovers on trail, but I was unsuccessful in gaining a contract and was forced to come home. On my return I signed for Glanvon FC and then Linfield before returning to Lurgan Town, where I have remained ever since. I recently finished a degree in Sports Science at the University of Ulster and gained my teaching degree last month again at UU. At the same time, along with my brother and friend, we established the The Beautiful Game Soccer Shop. We have been in operation for around two years now, and are continuing to grow in size every month.
What is your role at the club?
Within Lurgan Town, I am the PR officer. I run the website, which if you haven't seen can be found at www.ltbfc.com, and I am in charge of the news stories that go into the local press. Any news surrounding the club which needs to be announced is written by myself. Also, up until last season I was club captain, playing left back and guiding the lads to a respectable 5th in the Mid Ulster Intermediate League. My brother Stuart (assistant manager of the 1st team) and Tim Dillon (former 1st team manager, now centre back) also run The Beautiful Game Soccer Shop and we collectively supply the kits and training equipment to Lurgan Town.
Tell us about the setup over in Lurgan?
Lurgan Town is arguably the largest junior club in Northern Ireland. It is now in its 21st year in existence, and with the youth development academy, youth squads and senior squads, there are 14 teams playing regularly on a Saturday. Initially the club was established to give local kids a chance of playing football, and later it the senior section was developed in order to give the young players a future when they finish at Under 18 level. In recent years the club has had success in bringing the kids through to play in the senior squads and more importantly have had them snapped up by numerous English and Scottish league clubs. To date players have moved to Leeds, Southampton, Peterborough, Hearts, Falkirk, Gretna, Newcastle and Arsenal ladies. Hopefully in the near future, we can see some of our talented players playing for PNE. The current crop of youngsters in the youth development academy are showing great promise and who knows how many will move forward in the next few years.
How will linking up with PNE help your club?
The link up will see Lurgan Town further enhance their ability to develop young players. It will enable them to send players over to Preston on trial, have a mutual link up that will see various age groups from Preston come over to play exhibition games at The Arena and vice versa, enable young players to attend soccer schools set up by Preston at The Arena. Excitingly, for the Lurgan Town coaches, Preston has also expressed their interest in working directly with them in order to enhance their knowledge and ability. Town's coaches will be able to travel to Preston to see first class coaching in action. At a time when the quality of coaching in football is of paramount importance, the Lurgan Town coaches have a unique opportunity to work with the best. This is a prospect which excites all and it can only benefit the boys at the club. The link up has coincided with the further development of the Youth Development Academy which runs on Friday evenings.
What does Lurgan have to offer to Preston North End?
The link up will ensure that PNE get first refusal on any players coming through. As mentioned there have been many players move across to England, and the players at the club now can be chosen by PNE as they wish. The link up also offers Preston the chance to come across and play games in Northern Ireland. It is most definitely a different style of play as compared to England, and this will help their current players to grow. Preston may be interested in finding out about the prestigious Northern Ireland Milk Cup. This is the premier youth tournament in Europe and again would offer their players a unique opportunity to play against the best players in Europe.
Any young lads to look out for over there?
With a club so big, it is hard to pick out individual players. Each team has a group of potential superstars. But some to keep an eye out for include Jackson Burke (Under 12, scored 30+ goals last season), Mark Neill (Under 15, very assured and commanding centre back), Sammy Wright (Under 17, creative playmaker in midfield) and Darren Kennedy (Under 18, already broken into the first team at the age of 16). Like I say though, there are many fine players scattered throughout the club and I am sure that the PNE scouts will be keeping a close eye on them.
You say you provide the kits for the team from your sports shop, how do you find time to fit it all in?
Yeah, interestingly the Lurgan Town kits and training gear are Diadora, the same as PNE. It is tough to do everything and keep everything in balance, but we have a good team not only in the shop, but also in the backroom staff at The Town. We all pull together to ensure that all teams receive the same gear, and are turned out as professionally as possible. We take pride in our appearance and approach to training and match day.
Will you be planning to make the most of the link up and take in a Preston game this coming season?
This is something that I am looking forward to. I am a Saints fan, and it would be great to come over to see both teams in action. I notice on the fixture list that we are due to come to Deepdale at the beginning of November. Hopefully both teams will finish higher up than last season and push for a promotion place. It would be great to take a group of kids from Lurgan over to see a top class game. I think it would be an excellent opportunity for them.
Do you think there will be a few people in Lurgan keeping an eye out for PNE scorelines this year?
I would certainly think so now. We have a slight link from former PNE striker and NI International David Healy, and now with the link up between our two clubs there will definitely be an interest in the scores. I personally will have a keen interest to see how the North Enders are doing, and a Saints/Preston one-two finish would suit me.
As a gift of goodwill to a lucky Northender to celebrate the link up between the new clubs Scott Gordon`s online store is offering a new pair of gold Kelme Diablo Aire football boots as a prize. Keep an eye on PNE Vital tomorrow for details of the competition.
Click here to join in the debate on the club forum.
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