Chairman Phil Wallace hosted a fans Q&A on Tuesday night as Stevenage supporters gathered in the Broadhall Suite to quiz the big boss...
In yesterday's Part One of the debrief, we focused on the #ShareInOurFuture Equity Raise as supporters delved for more detail on the ambitious scheme. Today, we bring you questions and answers on transfers, coaching changes, the new North Stand and more...
- Do you plan on hosting more big events at the stadium, similar to the Boxing last month?
PW: “I would love to get more of those. I really enjoyed it and I know they were very impressed with the way that we handled everything in the lead up to it. You think about how many things could go wrong and nothing did. Everybody behaved themselves really well and we had no incidents. I think four people were rejected which is similar to what we have at a football match. I think everyone had a great night and I would love to do more.”
- What is the plan for under the new North Stand?
PW: “There is a lower side and an upper side. The upper side is coming in from the West Stand and you have toilets and a tea bar. You then go down the stairs into the main bar and everything will be a bit posher. Anyone can go into the bar, via the ground. You can be in any stand and go into the bar.”
- What is the thought behind the rebranding?
PW: “All companies - and we are no different - go through that type of evolution. You get to a stage where you think we need to appeal to a more modern audience or you need to build a suite of assets that we can extract from and I think rebranding is one of them. It freshens things up and if you are a traditionalist, you might not like it and I understand that. Some won’t like it, some will, but it allows us the opportunity to play with the logo, to take the Hart out and use it in different ways. It gives us all sorts of options that we didn’t have before. We are changing a lot of things and that is one of them.”
- Will the new Stand be ready for the first game of the season?
PW: “I would say there is a possibility that the facilities could be open – I.E the seats, toilet and tea bar but the bar probably won’t. There will be seats in that stand by mid-July but we have to get all the access points and turnstiles done. That is what I am most concerned about currently.”
- Have we target experienced players already for the Transfer Window?
PW: “Our way of doing things is we have non-league targets that we want and because these lads aren’t paid until 30th June like everyone else, you can do them quickly. We usually go after our non-league targets really quick and this year we got two out of the three that we wanted. Then we wait for experience or quality to arise and you have probably got to understand that if these lads have been playing regularly, they go away on a break and because they are paid until 30th June, they are quite comfortable and not in a rush to join a new club.
“We have to make sure that we aren’t in a rush to sign them either. They will sign, if you give them a pot of gold, but we have to wait. We have got all sorts of players that we are close to signing and I expect that by the end of the month, we will have two or three more.”
- What are your top three priorities for the season?
PW: “I would like to finish this North Stand and what you aren’t seeing is that I am project managing this and it’s really tough. I need to get this built but I am loving how it looks. It is everything that I always wanted it to be. I used to look at that end and I am ashamed. So now, I am really loving what I am seeing. Once the front goes on and we get the glass windows in, it will look fantastic. That will be my number one priority.
“Secondly, I need to enjoy the football. That means winning but it also means winning in a certain way. If I am not enjoying the football and see no point in coming, then I have got to question why I am doing it. I have to make sure that the Management get the right players in to give us the best chance to win as many games as football as we can, without being stupid with the budget. So, I would like to have a Cup Run and to in-and-around the top three for automatic promotion.
“Third, I don’t think there is one. Let’s build the stand, get promoted and I will be a happy bunny.”
- What’s the latest on the coaching situation?
PW: “We aren’t looking for a number two. These are coaches. Dino is the Manager and as far as I am concerned, I would really like to see two top quality coaches so we can keep improving players individually and Dino can be the manager without being intricately involved with everything on the training pitch. Dino has about four people shortlisted and I would personally be happy with any of them.”
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