Calum Ward
Glasshoughton Welfare boss Rob Hunter is backing Calum Ward to prosper at Evo Stik Division One North side Ossett Town,” writes James Grayson (Twitter: @jamesAgrayson).
Ward moved to Ingfield last week and appeared as a second half substitute in the 4-0 defeat at Bamber Bridge on Saturday.
The striker had been attracting interest from a number of clubs after scoring 15 times in 17 appearances for Welfare which meant he was top goalscorer in the Toolstation NCEL Premier Division goals chart for a number of weeks.
Ward weighed up his options and chose Craig Elliott’s Ossett and Hunter believes the striker has the right characteristics to succeed at Evo Stik level.
“I hope it really works out for him,” Hunter told Sports Performer.
“I think he’ll get goals in the Evo Stik because he has an awful lot of dedication and passion.
“He has the will and desire to get on the end of things at the start of the season we were putting balls in the box and he was getting on the end of balls he had no right to get on the end of.
“He has so much desire to score a goal and he was so desperate to be top of the goal-scorers’ chart.
“If he takes that desire into the Evo Stik, in a league where he’ll get more chances because he’s playing with better players, he’ll do well.
“It is a big step-up and he’s very young, he’s only 20-years-old. But he has such a great attitude and I’m sure he’ll score goals.
“I think Ossett Town have a player who has the potential to play higher than where he is now.
“But, he has to learn the game at that level and he has to make sure he’s not too conscious that he might not start every game and may have to come off the bench sometimes to learn that level of football.”
Ossett Town boss Craig Elliott
Ward joined Glasshoughton in the summer after not been invited back for pre-season training at Tadcaster Albion. Hunter told Sports Performer in July that he believed that Ward would score over 20 goals for Welfare and he was well on his way to doing so.
And Hunter admits his departure is a blow.
“We have scored 32 goals this season and he has got 15 of them,” he added.
“Obviously when the player who has got half of your goals leaves, you’re a bit disappointed.
“Calum has been outstanding since he came. He signed for Glasshoughton over a (NCEL) Division One side who were offering more money than us and an Evo Stik team.
“Mark Smitheringale put some fantastic coaching on in the summer and he really enjoyed it and decided he wanted to come and play for us.
“He set his sights on scoring 30 goals, but when a club like Ossett Town come in for him with a chance to play at Evo Stik level, it is very difficult for a 20-year-old centre-forward to not take that opportunity.
“I spoke to him on the night he signed (for Ossett Town) and I said: ‘look Calum I think you have to take the opportunity and everyone at the club is rooting for you’.
“He was at Tadcaster for three seasons and scored a few goals and he left Tadcaster for whatever reason and he has shown here that Calum Ward is a good footballer and he’s going to get a lot of goals at this level.”