Fauldhouse equipped to beat Premier League drop

Jan 21 2010 by Eric MacKinnon, West Lothian Courier

ALAN PROSSER is adamant he has the players at his disposal to keep his side in the Premier League.

The Fauldhouse United boss steered his side to a 2-1 win over county rivals Armadale in their last competitive outing before Jack Frost wrapped his icy fingers around the junior game.

Since then the Hoose have been in cold storage but Prosser reckons there is no reason why they can’t beat the drop and extend their stay in the Premier League.

He said: “There are financial restraints at the club but I have managed to bring in a few guys from the West region and we are doing reasonably well.

“It was difficult when I took over because many of the players had been signed by the previous manager meaning I had to scout around for players who could do a good job for Fauldhouse.

“Players like Bryan Felvus who has scored a lot of goals for us and recent signing Jamie Gallacher who has bags of experience with Bathgate and Dunfermline among his previous sides.

“But I must say the response from everyone at the club has been great from the players who were here before to any new signings I brought in.

“It was a tough season last year where I think they finished fourth bottom and we are looking to improve a bit on that.

“We are more than capable of staying in this league and hopefully we can finish about mid-table.

“Our aim this season is to build a platform for a real push on promotion to the Super League next year.

“We feel we could add to the Super league with our facilities here.

“It would be a great reward for our hard working committee who have been very supportive of the squad since I joined.”

At present Fauldhouse are sitting in seventh spot but they are just a couple of wins away from second placed Ballingry Rovers with both having played 11 matches.

But in an extremely tight league the West Lothian side are also a mere two points ahead of Armadale who are sitting second bottom of the pile.

Prosser, who enjoyed a spell in the dug-out at Dunipace and was also goalkeeper coach at Cambuslang Rangers, continued: “We have drawn a few games which we should have won and those points would have made a big, big difference but it is a very tight league.”

Fauldhouse’s last outing was on December 5 and the junior side have even found it hard to train due to the wild West Lothian weather.

But Prosser acknowledges all the sides are in the same boat after one of the worst winters on record.

“We didn’t manage to do anything for about three weeks but we’ve managed to train five times in the past week and a half although Monday night was the first time we managed to get outside,” he revealed.

“Everybody is in the same boat as us and it has been hard for everyone.

“We have got a massive game on Saturday in the East of Scotland Cup against Whitburn and they’ve found it hard as well to get training facilities.”

Prosser also paid tribute to ex-Motherwell and Hamilton stalwart Brian Martin who is set to move on from the club.

He added: “I’d like to thank Brian Martin for his excellent services to the club.

“He has moved on to a new job and we have Sandy Ross, the ex-Lesmahagowmanager, coming in as my assistant.

“We have also had Sandy Clark taking the training sessions but he may also be moving on as well.”

One of the biggest challenges faced by Fauldhouse is the financial implications of the travelling required by Premier League clubs.

With clubs dotted around the country from Carnoustie to Montrose and from West Lothian to Montrose, it is a heavy burden on a club like Fauldhouse.

Club secretary Gordon Watson admits the long treks to away matches doesn’t help travelling supporters and is a burden on the club.

He said: “It was a costly season for us last term but we learned a lot.

“We stayed up and are slowly building on a good foundation and we’re happy with the progress so far and Alan is doing a great job for us.

“The committee, who have done a superb job in keeping the finances coming in, would like to thank all the local businesses for their continued support and obviously we would like to see some more supporters coming through the doors.

“A.M.S our shirt sponsors have been a fantastic support along with committee members like Francis and Matt Russell who donate a huge amount of time and effort into serving the club.

“But the club is going in the right direction under Alan Prosser.

“This is also a big season for central defender Andy Cooper as it his testimonial year.

“He has spent ten years with the club and in all that time he has been an inspirational player for us.

“His uncle Sandy Clark (ex-Hearts manager) has been helping out at training and the players have responded well to a professional approach.

“We’re trying to bring the best to Fauldhouse for the supporters and we would especially like to thank the Welfare Club for their support over the years.”