Thursday January 24th 2008.

Interview with Andrew Dyer.

 

What have you made of the Welsh Premier so far?

First and foremost I have greatly enjoyed the experience of managing a team in the highest division in Wales. It has been an ambition of mine to do so since I joined Skewen Athletic in 2002. People seem to want to knock this division but I have found our time to be fantastic and full of challenges that I have enjoyed trying to overcome.

Going to places like TNS, Rhyl and Llanelli have been a great occasion for both myself and the club and we have all taken a lot out of these visits and we use the information gained to improve ourselves.

It is a League that is run professionally and it has been a pleasure to be involved in -though our results have helped me to enjoy this level as much as I have done so far,to be fair!

 

What has been the moment of the season so far?

There have been so many to mention that it is difficult to say - Andrew Hill scoring the first ever goal in the Welsh Premier for Neath is a good place to start. Hillo has been loyal to the club and has recieved the overtures of many clubs during his time at the club and for him to score our first goal was great. He is an inspiration on the pitch as well as off it and it is no coincidence that himself and another inspiration Steve Pockett are the club's longest serving players. They help drive things on with the determination they show.

There have been many other moments that I have greatly enjoyed for many reasons - David D'Auria scoring a wonderful goal at Haverfordwest, the goal celebrations at Newi after Dale Evans curled one home and Shawsy's late equaliser at Caersws spring to mind, but there have been countless others to enjoy.

 

What has impressed you most with the way the team has applied themselves?

I knew that we had quality on board at the start of the season, but the one thing that has impressed me to most is the desire to never say die. The players have been immense and have often defied belief with their ability to come back from desperate situations and get a result. Port Talbot , Llanelli, Caersws and Aberystwyth are all games in which we were two goals adrift and came back to get a point and at this level it demonstrates a quality of courage and determination to never give up and this is something that comes from within. Very rarely during the season I have had to question the players' desire and I think this has shown through with their performances.

You're on course to be the most successful promoted team in the WP-what's your secret?

That would be telling wouldn't it! No seriously we prepare well as a team and have a backroom staff that works well together and know what we want to achieve. The secrets will remain within but the people we have at the club are second to none and all sing from the same songsheet and I cannot thank them enough for the job they do at the club. As a club we are very tightly knit and that includes involving everyone and the fact that our supporters are so close to our players is very important and makes us a strong unit.

What would be the one thing you would change about the League if you could?

The transfer window. The current situation is a hinderance to WP clubs as it sets us up as sitiing ducks waiting to be picked off by clubs in other Leagues. Our feeder League- the Welsh League have six more weeks to sign players at the start of the season, which encompasses the early rounds of the Welsh Cup. This puts clubs in our League at a disadvantage; clubs who run recreation level teams are not restricted by the transfer window and can steal a march on other clubs ahead of the window and of course clubs in other pyramids can raid us as they want- it is not a level playing field at the moment.

Who is the best player you have come up against?

There have been many and right at this moment I'd be tempted to say Andrew Legg after his performance last night! Both Llanelli and TNS have some quality players but John Leah of TNS is pure class, so I think I'll go for him.

Rumour has it that the Neath bus is legendary,why is this?

The spirit of this club is shown on the team bus and that is all I will say!