Matthew West

Our U18s group are in a good moment having shown great attitude and performance levels across the games and sessions this month.

A win on the road against Buchanhaven Hearts was followed by a 4-1 victory against Dyce at Bellslea. I must commend the players for the efforts in particular during recent sessions where we have had to endure some brutal weather conditions.

In addition to our own matches our players have been busy with so much going on with the ADJFA, Juvenile Scottish Cup, Schools, Select teams and National team schedules.

Really good for the players to get so many minutes and the opportunity to gain experience.

It has been a busy month for myself and the coaching staff as we held our appraisal sessions with the youth players and parents. Introduced into our youth programme a number of years ago, we feel this is a vital tool in order to reflect, align and motivate our individuals with feedback on many aspects of the game. The positivity and feedback from the group across these sessions was refreshing and shows how fortunate our youth players are to have such great support from their families.

It was great to see Dean Cowie back with Alex Mair in the dugout for the U21s match against Deveronvale. A real strong showing on the night from the team. The highlight was watching Deano pacing the dugout with his walking sticks as he recovers from his knee operation.

By sheer coincidence this came on the Monday after skipper Willie West played game 700 for the club. William committed time out of his busy schedule to chat to our youth players for half an hour before training. William had put in effort to prepare some slides to present to the group. Invaluable advice and an inspiring insight into William’s career, tips on how to perform at a high level, advice on how to avoid injuries, insights into managing time, overcoming set backs, and further advice on what our players should consider when he looked back on when he was that age.

William is quite unique. For sure it is a challenge for anyone to replicate such success but if we can take motivation and realisation of how dedication and drive can provide such a platform for success, this 30 minutes with our group can be of significant benefit to them.

On 9th December our U21s travel to Pitmedden as they take on Formartine. Huntly come to the Bellslea on 16th December for the U18s final home match of the year. We did not perform well in matches against Huntly last season we need to be ready for a really tough match.

We then finish the year with a visit to Spain Park on Monday 30th December. It’s clear the task we have on our hands here when you see how well Banks o’ Dee have done in the national competition. This is a challenge we must look forward to and we must go there aware of what to expect.

For our players and staff I'm sure, amid the busy schedule, enjoy the festive period with our families and look forward to 2025.

I am immensely proud of the collective effort from all who have supported our Youth Programme throughout the year. A great ambition is shared - to develop local, talented

Credit to Annan Athletic skipper Tommy Muir who went over to some of the kids in the terraces at full time last Saturday and said "if you grow up and play football - play like your team in black and white did today". What a message and compliment to our team.

The Scottish Cup 4th round draw for me, is not luck - it’s the outcome of thorough and diligent professionalism throughout the club.

Take care - Matthew