Dumbarton Reporter | Sport | 'PROMOTION IS THE AIM OF THE GAME'

Wednesday, 9th July, 2008

Published: Tuesday, 29th April, 2008 11:00

'PROMOTION IS THE AIM OF THE GAME'

By Mike Farrell

Print Article

MONEY for new signings, a better youth system and most importantly — they are going to win the league next season.

That is the vision the new chief executive — and Son of the Rock — has for the future Dumbarton Football Club.

Gilbert Lawrie, 47, wants to start afresh with the Sons, the team he has supported all his life.

According to the new man in charge the cash that manager Jim Chapman needs to refresh the team will be provided and — supporters will be delighted to hear — they CAN win the Third Division title next season.

The Reporter spoke exclusively with Mr Lawrie about his ambitions for Dumbarton FC for both next season and beyond.

He said: “The manager will have the resources he requires to win us promotion.

“We are looking to sign players who are not just Third Division quality, but at a Second Division level as well — not of a minimal standard.

“We are not in a Gretna situation, we are financially stable and this club can grow on the back of its own income.

“What we need to do is what Hamilton and Inverness Caledonian Thistle did and that is grow within the community.

“Those are the models we need to follow.”

Mr Lawrie, a chartered surveyor who was brought up in Dumbarton while attending Knoxland Primary and Dumbarton Academy, believes that the youth set-up at the club needs to be strengthened.

And Mr Lawrie added that his last position on the board during the 1994/1995 promotion winning season is part of the inspiration behind his new ethos for the club.

He said: “One of the best days of my life was when we went to Stirling and got promoted on the last day of the campaign — hopefully we’ll experience more like that next year.”

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