Nick Wright previews this weekend's clash between York City Knights and Hull FC
Alex Reid looks at whether the once ever-present appearance of English clubs in the later stages of the Champions League is set to become a thing of the past
Craig Dobson looks at QPR's decision to sack Neil Warnock and replace him with Mark Hughes
James Tompkinson reviews an excellent pre-season victory for the York City Knights against Yorkshire rivals Leeds Rhinos
The University of York 1st team won their league, the BUSA Northern Conference 3B, last year thanks to a young squad under the leadership of Dom O'Shea. Despite being a 2nd year Witherwick was one of the newcomers to the team but he soon earned himself a starting spot and began to dominate the centre of the park. The team's successful season was even sweeter for Witherwick when his clubmates voted him in as the new captain.
The Yorker: Congratulations on being voted captain, quite an achievement after only playing university football for one year. What are your thoughts on that year?
Witherwick: I thought last year was terrific! For me personally it was tough at the start, it was all about getting to know everyone and then trying to force my way into the starting eleven. Once the team had formed a settled squad and gained some momentum I thought we were awesome, from then on it became pretty clear that no one was going to stop us from winning the league.
The Yorker: So why do you think your clubmates voted for you to be their new captain?
Witherwick: I have no idea why people voted for me! I'm very passionate about football, and proud to be a part of the University so hopefully that shows in my competitiveness on the field. I'm not exactly what you'd call a flair player but I do work extremely hard for the good of the team!
The Yorker: What will you continue from the O'Shea era and what aspects do you think you will change and where will you bring in new ideas?
Witherwick: Dom was a great captain, I'll definitely want to continue and maintain the spirit and camaraderie that was created throughout last year, this is essential if were hoping to compete in such a competitive league. This year we're going to do a lot more team oriented training to try and perfect gameplans that can be taken into matches
We have some fantastic players here at York and the other teams should underestimate us at their peril!
The Yorker: You've lost 3 players to graduation (Ramsden, Rixon and Smith) opening up a few spaces in the squad for 2nd team players or freshers one would assume. Any preference for the sort of players you want to come in?
Witherwick: The players who have left us will all be sorely missed but at the same time its a great oppurtunity for other uni players and freshers to come and claim a place in the team. Last year we saw a number of primarily second team players come in and do a good job for the first eleven, and with the likes of Ian McKellow and Joe Brennan returning, UYAFC is looking very strong this year and there isn't really a particular area that I'm concerned with. Hopefully we'll also get a talented set of freshers who might also be able to improve the squad.
The Yorker: Two successive promotions have left the 1st team in a very competitive league, playing the likes of Durham, Sheffield and Sheffield Hallam 1st teams, how do you think your team will cope and what's a realistic target?
Witherwick: Theres no getting away from the fact that this season will be much, much tougher than the last. However, we should take heart from the fact that the team played several teams from higher divisions in the last campaign and every time we performed well, more often that not getting a result. I have absolute faith in the team to cope, we have some fantastic players here at York and the other teams should underestimate us at their peril! There is absolutely no team that we will fear and if we get off to a good start I believe we can more than hold our own in the division. Having said that, we have to be realistic and trying to emulate what was done last season will be a huge task, but that is the challenge!
With that Mat is back to the training pitch as pre-season training hots up. For your chance to get involved with men's football and UYAFC, get along to the trial sessions on 22 Acres in freshers week. All are welcome and are instructed to meet at the sports centre entrance 15 minutes before the trials start. The times are as follows:
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