John Ward Pens New Contract

Lifted rom www.wearegoingup.co.uk

Manager John Ward has today signed a 1-year rolling contract to remain with the club. Having taken over in December with the club in the League Two relegation zone he has guided us to mid-table safety and masterminded some superb results against top teams. The rolling deal means that, effectively, he will always have 12 months left to run until a time when the club and/or he decides it's time for change.

This will be music to the ears of Gasheads who have been desperate to hear of the 62 year old's decision to commit to Rovers. We all assumed this would happen given the fact he has been offering new contracts to players whose contracts are set to expire this summer but it is nice to finally have confirmation. The future's of Marcus Stewart and Shaun North are being discussed and Ward hopes he can retain both as we approach the end of the season.

Speaking to the local media he explained that he wants those who have been offered fresh terms to sign as quickly as possible. He said he only wants to sign a 'handful' of new players to compliment the squad we already have. Mark McChrystal and Steve Mildenhall are both in negotiations with the club and it is thought Ollie Norburn and Ellis Harrison are too. In regards to the others, such as Joe Anyinsah and Fabian Broghammer for example, it has not been confirmed one way or the other if they have been offered anything. I firmly believe we can get better value for money elsewhere and would release the pair of them however I have a feeling Ward will keep at least one. That would be a disappointment for me given that Anyinsah is injured/not fully fit for 80% of the season and only gives you 1 good game in 4 when he does play, while Broghammer is weak, lacks skill and has only assisted one goal all season. That's not good enough in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I like both of them but I feel their time should come to an end. It is unclear what will happen in regards to the injured duo of Danny Woodards and Seanan Clucas although I'd assume both will be kept on whilst they recover from their injuries.

All in all this is superb news for everybody involved with the club and means we can really celebrate at the final home game tomorrow afternoon.