Matthew Jones: Conwy Borough perfect match between me and club

Matthew Jones has described Conwy Borough as a perfect match following his appointment earlier this year.

Jones, who previously managed Denbigh Town, Rhyl and most recently Llandudno, will now call Y Morfa his home.

After Conwy’s local rivals Llandudno parted company with Jones, he made the swift move across the North Wales Coast to Conwy.

“When I was relieved of my duties at Llandundo, after a tough year of stabilising that club, I decided I was going to take a break.

“However, I got the call from Conwy, and met the committee, I knew straight away it was the right move for me and I feel like it’s a perfect match between me and the club.

“The club have been so welcoming and the existing players, as well as the new signings have been fantastic.

“It’s been frustrating having local lockdowns and fire breaks disrupting our preparation, so the key for us now is to ensure we click and gel early and hit the ground running.”

His appointment may have been announced in June, but Jones is only now making his first step into the dugout for the Tangerines.

Conwy host Cymru North rivals Ruthin Town in Jones’ first competitive game in charge of the club.

Opponents Ruthin are now under the stewardship of Phil Hudson and Tommy Holmes, following the pairs departure from Brymbo.

Given the length it has been for both Conwy and Ruthin, there is no chance of a new manager bounce, instead both are having to adapt to new surroundings.

“It seems to have been such a long time since we have had competitive football, and this pre-season has been one of the strangest ever, so to get back to competitive football is very very exciting.”

“When you look at the clubs that where in the draw and in the league there are no easy games, Ruthin have always been a very strong outfit and Phil and Tommy have gone in there and added to the existing squad very well.

“It’s going to be a very good game I feel and it will be down to us to be well up for it and ready to go.”

Picking up from Chris Morrell, who led Conwy to a sixth placed finish in his first season, no targets have been identified between himself and the board.

Instead, he is hoping to build on what they achieved, albeit in a shortened league campaign, which will see the 30-game season reduced to 15.

“We haven’t set any targets in terms of league position, our aim is to build on what the club achieved last season and to work together to bring the club forward both on and off the field.

“It’s going to be very different, it’s going to mean that any good or bad runs of results are going to have twice the impact with less games. I am very excited to see how it pans out in this format.”

The UEFA A Licence candidate added: “This is my fourth season in this league and I say the same every year but it seems even more true this year that this league is incredibly competitive and it’s going to be incredibly tight.

“It reminds me very much of the English Championship. The clubs that have come up are all very strong so every game is going to be a tough game.”

(Featured Image: Conwy Borough FC)