Andy McMath Interview (19/04/13)
Andy McMath has been an instrumental member of the Tunbridge Wells side since moving into the area before the start of Season 2009/10. Previously he'd played for Nuneaton Griff while at university in the West Midlands and quickly became a pivotal part of newly-appointed manager Martin Larkin’s plans as he sought to drive the club forward on the pitch. During his four seasons with the club Andy has since hit 50 goals.
Hailing originally from Northern Ireland, Andy will be leaving the club for Australia at the end of the season, and his team mates will be hoping to give him the perfect send-off with an FA Vase win at Wembley on May 4th. In the lead-up to the final, www.tunbridgewellsfc.co.uk caught up with Andy with some questions.
TWFC: Andy, you’re leaving us at the end of the season to go to Australia. What will you be doing out there?
AM: Initially I am getting married at the end of May - thankfully not the 4th otherwise it could have been an awkward situation. My fiancée and I thought it would be a perfect start to married life to go travelling round the world for a bit and experience a few different countries, ending up in Australia. So we are travelling around Southeast Asia for two months a couple of weeks after the wedding and will arrive in Australia mid-August, where I am hoping to continue with my career as a civil engineer. If that fails, I’ll spend the majority of my time on a beach!
TWFC: Assuming you don’t plan on retiring from football just yet, have you targeted a club to play for next year in Australia? What do you know about the quality of football over there?
AM: I haven't targeted a club just yet. We will be initially moving to the Brisbane area so I guess once we settle in I might look for something, but there are no plans at the minute.
It’s obviously been a very exciting time around the football club and to be honest I have been focused on that. If I get to a point that I’m missing football so much, I guess Tunbridge Wells could sort out my airfares on a weekly basis...
TWFC: To say you picked a good year to sign-off on would be an understatement! What’s it been like playing for The Wells over your time here – and what does it mean to you to see all the efforts pay off with some silverware?
AM: It’s been an absolutely incredible four years! I moved down to the area after university, got a job and took a season out from football. That nearly drove me mad, so when pre-season came along I emailed the website asking if I could come down for a few training sessions. I think I was quite lucky as the club was in transition and Martin had just been installed as manager. I’m guessing he liked what he saw and I was lucky enough to sign.
Over the seasons there has been a lot of changes within the team - a lot players came and went, but I think Martin and Brad’s philosophy was always about building a squad that all want to work for each other and believe in each others’ abilities. You can really see that this season as we have gone behind on numerous occasions but we have dug in, stuck together and had the mental strength to come through it and win.
It’s a real credit to Martin and Brad, and possibly non-leagues most sought after scout, Scott Whibley that this squad has been amassed with the desire and belief, but also the quality to go with it and to win some silverware for the first time in 25 years. That was a nice way to recognise the hard work that has gone on over the last three to four years.
The squad is full of potential and this season we have actually stood up and shown what we are capable of, and have been rewarded for that.
TWFC: Not even in your wildest dreams could you have imagined your last game for us being at Wembley… has it all sunk in yet?
AM: To be honest I don’t think the magnitude of this will sink in until the day itself. It’s hard to get your head around the fact that we will actually be playing on that stage in front of 20,000 people. This is the kind of thing you dream of when you start out playing football but never truly believe it would happen...! Well it’s happened, it’s very real, and it’s going to be incredible!
The whole way through the run Martin kept saying “make sure this isn’t Maccas' last FA Vase game”. I was sat with Andy Irvine at the Binfield game and we joked about why it would be my last game - he thought I was bombed off the squad... Irvs and I spoke about it on the way back from Shildon and still can’t believe that its actually going to happen! It will be like living a dream, imagine if I scored the winner...
TWFC: At which point did you all start to think that the FA Vase Final could be a real possibility?
AM: I think the Dunston game for me was the point at which I thought we could go on and do something special. To put the holders out gave us the belief that we could beat anyone. We played really well in that game and restricted them to half chances so I think that was a massive boost for everyone and at that point there were a few quiet mentions of Wembley at training. You can see from the string of results after it we had the confidence and momentum to drive on.
Even when we were 3-2 down against Larkhall that determination to fight back was evident. We could have rolled over and thought “we have had a good run”, but we kept battling and were rewarded in the last minute of extra time. I still owe Jack [Harris] for that. He saved me after a dubious red-card…
TWFC: Your name will be linked as part of a team that will be talked about by the supporters for years to come. What’s your parting message to them?
AM: I want to thank them for their continued support. They have really got behind us this year which is evident as we have been averaging the highest support in the league and that’s even before the Vase run. They have travelled with us country-wide. That trip to Shildon was long for us and we went up the day before. They had two or three bus loads to do that round-trip in one day, which is just phenomenal commitment.
It really is appreciated within the squad. Everyone gets a buzz looking around and seeing the ever increasing crowds at the Culverden, and I just hope that going forward they will continue to support the club in the coming seasons. The Vase run has got a bit of a feel-good factor around the town and all the attention from it is unreal! We will have the majority of the supporters at the final and what better way to thank the fans than to win it? That’s our aim, and we’re going to make sure we do it.
TWFC: And as for your team-mates: Better things still to come at Culverden?
We are a squad of good mates. We have an unbelievable bond, and we have got stronger and stronger over the season. The amount of banter that flies around the changing room is unreal, but we all have the characters to give as much as we get - except for Perry [Spackman] and [Jon] Pilbeam who have no banter whatsoever...!
It has been quality, but when we have needed to knuckle down and work hard, we have done it. We wouldn’t have got this far if we just turned up for a laugh. Also, Bourney would go through you if he thought you were taking the mickey.
If the squad stays together - which I’m pretty sure they will do - the club will go on and get promoted next season, without doubt. More than likely some will get offers from elsewhere but a few have tried that at the start of this season, realised that other clubs just don’t have what we have and come back. That, to me, says it all - you won’t get another club like it!
