After Durham City AFC got their first league win in 532 days, we absolutely had to catch up with the gaffer Wayne Gredziak to get his thoughts on that win, the season so far, behind the scenes and moving forward.
Hi Wayne, thank you for chatting with us. It would be impossible to ask you anything else before asking you this. But, describe how you’re feeling after getting that first league win?
To be honest, it’s been a long time coming, but it’s nice to finally get that off our backs. We have a long way to go till the end of the season and I’m hoping for more wins, however I’m pleased and proud of the players from where we have come from to where we are now. It has been a turbulent start with lots of ups and downs and we now need to push on.
It’s a tough one to answer, as there’s different variables and factors. But what do you think helped get that win or perhaps, did you do anything differently?
Well we have gone back to basics in games. Literally start back at the beginning and not overcomplicate things for the player. With that in mind, the major one is we had too many coaches giving orders and confusion was hindering on players. We've had some coaches leave and on Saturday there was Myself, JJ and Junior off the pitch and Craig Ruddy on the pitch. It worked well and will continue that way now.
How are the squad feeling at the moment? Has that win given them a lift and/or confidence going forward?
Confidence is key in football. But also pressure is another one, so to get rid of that curse (which some players called it) should help massively. There is a buzz after Saturday and the group chat after the win seemed to be of relief and excitement going forward.
Understandably, we’ve had some players come and go for various reasons. How do you feel about the current squad you have? Any more areas you’d like to strengthen in?
This league is really weird when it comes to players. They come and go, but we have been hit by COVID last few weeks so had to sign players on just to get through games. But what we have done is gone back to the original squad. I have apologised for signing players on and upsetting some some so hopefully we have got the original squad back plus a few newbies.
It’s almost a year since you took over at Durham City after the club nearly folded. We know we haven’t always got the results wanted, but given that the team were getting beat in double figures and with no reply, you must be proud of what you’ve achieved? How are you finding it as a manager?
Well it’s my birthday next week and I hit the top old age of 44 and it was exactly just after my birthday that I took over as manager. I ain’t going to lie, it has aged me and people say we should be beating these teams and doing better. And yes, while I agree with thise people, they don’t know what goes on behind the scenes. We have six key players with long term injuries. We have had four players move to Northern League teams and we have been hit with COVID last 3 weeks. Despite this we have never been humiliated, we have competed in every game and sometimes we have made mistakes that cost us the game. But people like yourself who go to games know what goes on instead of just reading the result on social media. I am immensely proud of this squad and we are on a journey and this journey has just started. Last weekend was a baby step in the right direction!
We’ve got two more league games in October before we have our next cup match. What are your hopes heading into our away game against Deerness Valley this Saturday and then our home game against Hetton Juniors the following week?
Both games are going to be hard. Like I have always said, there is no easy game in this league, but we will give it our best shot and we will compete that is for sure.
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