[21 AUG 98]
NON-LEAGUE FOOTBALL NEWS
Nuneaton Borough
- Pre-season PreviewNuneaton Borough have a
frantic start to their big push for Vauxhall Conference football.
The Manor Park outfit kick-off at home against Hastings
Town and have three more games in the first nine days of the Dr Martens Premier Division
season.
Manager Brendan Phillips has been out shopping in the close
season and has been able to recruit several players with league experience.
Former Fulham central defender Terry Angus has joined the
club from Stroud. The centre-half, who played over 200 games for the Craven Cottage side,
is a Coventry lad who started his career in local football.
Left-back Steve Prinderville, who was on Leicester
City’s books before moving to Mansfield, has signed from Kidderminster. Former
Birmingham City and Hednesford keeper Richard Williams has moved from Atherstone,
21-year-old left midfielder Dickie Gardner comes in from Bromsgrove and former Shrewsbury
youth team player Shaun Wray – a nippy right winger – has signed from Stafford
Rangers.
But Phillips biggest coup has been the capture of
35-year-old Ian Muir. Muir, a Coventry kid, started his pro career with Queens Park
Rangers and had brief spells with Birmingham and Brighton before moving on to Tranmere.
He was a huge success at Prenton Park and scored 141 league
goals in 10 seasons. He then rejoined Birmingham and played for Hong Kong side Happy
Valley last season.
Borough chairman Phil Clayton believes Phillips has
attracted the right blend.
He said:
"A few of the new lads have league experience, but Ian
and Terry will prove invaluable. They have had good careers in the Football League and
will bring us experience, direction and leadership.
"The Conference is very competitive and you have to
get the blend right. The lads with league experience, together with youngsters like
Dickie, Shaun and Malcolm Christie, should give us some strength.
"We want to provide a team the town can be proud of.
We have got a great set of supporters and I know they will back us all the way."
Borough have suffered a set-back in recent days when their
plans to move to Jubilee Fields were knocked back by the council.
Clayton added:
"We are very disappointed. We had talked to the
council and had meetings with local residents and then the council said they didn’t
want the scheme. They just didn’t have to listen.
"Now we will go back to them and see what else is
available in the town."
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