South Shields manager Watson enthused as Mariners agree international investment deal
South Shields have agreed a deal with an international investment fund that is awaiting the green light from the National League.
South Shields manager Ian Watson has praised Mariners chairman Geoff Thompson for putting the club first after he agreed a significant deal with an international investment fund.
The Mariners chairman confirmed the news in a video sent to shareholders and dispatched via the club’s official social media outlets on Monday as he expressed his excitement over what could lie ahead. Thompson first took ownership of his hometown club 11 years ago and has overseen a meteoric rise up the non-league pyramid throughout that time.
However, with promotion into the National League now a very real possibility, the need for further investment is clear to see as Watson and assistant manager Carl Magnay look to guide their side into non-league’s top tier and move within one promotion of the EFL.
That will now come thanks to the agreement Thompson has struck with an as yet unnamed international investment fund and further details of the deal and changes to the ownership structure at the 1st Cloud Arena will be revealed later this month. Watson reflected on the new positively and believes Thompson has put the interests of the club ahead of his own by securing the agreement.
He told The Gazette: “The trust is all with Geoff to be honest with you. He’s been amazing since we came in and I’d never met him before I came into the football club last summer and I just knew whatever decision he would make on the football club was going to be the right decision.
“It’s the right decision because he loves the football club so much and he’s also very intelligent and he understands what really good looks like. His decision making is never emotional, it’s never self, and I can’t say too much in terms of what has been going at the football club but Geoff definitely could have come out of any agreement in a better place personally.
“But he has put the football club first and he believes these guys are best for the football club and best to move the football club forwards. That in itself is an amazing thing because there aren’t many selfless chairman or people that will put the club ahead of their own personal gain.”
Powerful
Thompson has also confirmed he was remain in situ as chairman and will continue as a ‘significant minority shareholder’ once the agreement is formally ratified by the National League during the middle of April. Watson has stressed the importance of Thompson’s decision to stay on and believes the news is the ‘most powerful’ aspect of the agreement.
“The biggest thing for me is that Geoff is going to remain involved because I’ve got a really good relationship with him, as have all of the coaches,” he explained. “He drives the club and I feel he believes in us a lot and we believe in him a lot. That’s why it was really important that he stayed involved. Geoff staying on is the best thing about it and probably the most powerful part of the agreement.”
The Mariners are back in action on Good Friday when they visit Watson’s former club, Spennymoor Town.