How much of an honour was it for you to be awarded as The 2019/20 Managements’ Player of the Season?

I’m genuinely delighted to get a trophy in the season that never was. I managed to stay injury free and I had one of my most consistent seasons. I aimed to win something at the start of the campaign, so to achieve what I set out to do at the start of the season, I’m obviously delighted.

Chris Swailes has appointed you as Club captain for the coming season. What are your thoughts on this announcement?

It’s a privilege to be given the role. On my side, since I came in October 2018, I’ve loved my time at Dunston and this is really the icing on the cake.

Dan Halliday was club captain last season and he’s a good mate; he put the call into Swaz and I think he suggested me for the role and I’m delighted to be given the opportunity.

I think Dan just wanted to get back to focusing on his own game this season, without the added pressures of captaining the side. I’m really looking forward to picking up from where Dan left off.

The Club have brought in two superb signings recently in Terry Galbraith and Liam Connell, what do you see them bringing to the team?

It’s great to have them both back at the club. They bring with them with a wealth of experience having played at higher levels. Terry’s captained Darlington and Liam was captain last time he was Dunston and they can take the leadership roles they’ve had and definitely add something into the coming season from back to front. They’re two really good lads to have in the dressing room which really helps the team.

When Terry Galbraith signed he commented that promotion is a must this season. Chris Swailes mentioned in a previous interview that the minimum aim this season is to reach the play-offs. What are your thoughts ahead of the coming season? 

We all really want to be pushing on this season, so I completely agree with those points. Last season was a bit of a freebie to be honest. I think we got a shock in terms of the quality of the sides we were up against; there was a difference in the playing styles compared to what we had come up against in previous seasons but we’ve gained experience and knowledge from last season, so this season we know what to expect going to certain teams.

Pre-season has obviously got underway, how are things going?

We were in a bit of a limbo waiting for a date to start the season. Now we’ve got dates, trainings has ramped up and I expect to be cracking on as we move ahead into the season. Players’ fitness levels are good and spirits are high so it’s looking really good from that perspective.

I’m really looking forward to the season starting and I’m excited to seeing everybody back at the ground when things turn back to some sense of normality.

Craig Scott is kindly sponsored by:

Home and away shirt - Players of Dunston UTS FC’s FA Vase winning side of 2012.

Training kit - Currently available. See sponsorship page for further details.

Images courtesy of Beauty Time Photography.