Carluke Rovers' ambitious outlook convinced management duo to take on role

Paul Davies says Carluke Rovers’ ambition convinced him to make a quick return to West of Scotland Football League management.

Davies and co-boss Craig Gupwell have taken charge of Carluke as they look set to compete in the fourth tier of the WoSFL next season. They currently play in Conference B.

The pair started management with Newmains in 2018, leading the club to their highest league finish. They left Victoria Park earlier this year and a return to the town of Carluke is pleasing.

Davies said: “We’ve only really had three or four weeks out. We are looking forward to getting back and for me, Carluke are my home team. It’s a real honour to go and manage them.

“When I was at Carluke Amateurs previously, they merged with Newmains as a result of me and Craig getting the job down there. We felt we took Newmains where we could take them.

“The Carluke job was available and we spoke with the committee. We see the ambition in this club and they liked what we said, so it has worked out well.”

Part of the reason why Davies opted for leaving Newmains was the passing of club chairman Ken Davies, his father. The pair both put plenty of work in behind the scenes at Victoria Park that went beyond matchday duty.

Davies explained: “I went to Newmains to manage, not to take over the club. That’s one of the reasons why we left.

“I was fortunate at Newmains that I had some great volunteers there so it wasn’t all down to me. A lot of it was down to my dad but he passed away and that was a factor why I left Newmains.

“My dad was retired and virtually full-time there. I put my heart and soul in to it but we lost a key player, which was hard for us.”

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