Mott: My future on the line in 2013

By Richard Thomas

Glamorgan head of elite performance Matthew Mott understands 2013 is going to be a critical year if he wants to extend his stay at the county beyond his three-year contract.

That contract ends in September and the Australian is looking for a much better campaign than his first two. Last year the Welsh county finished sixth in Division Two of the County Championship and bottom but one in the Friends Life t20 and Clydesdale Bank 40 groups.

“This year is the line in the sand for me and the club,” admitted Mott. “I know that in my position, along with the captain, you are the person most accountable for performances. The performances need to improve. If you appoint an overseas coach to come in and do a job, you need to see improved performances and possibly silverware.

“The club needs us to be successful and if we are not this season, the nature of sport is they will consider looking elsewhere. I thought at the start of last year that we would be up there in the mixer but it did not happen for a number of reasons.

“You are judged on every year and 2012 was a bit of a write-off. We went into the summer with great hope and we tried to raise the level of expectation among the group but it did not go to plan. We have got honest feedback from a lot of people and we were well below par.”

Heading into the summer Glamorgan have had changes in personnel. They have lost England Lions seamer James Harris to Middlesex and Robert Croft to retirement but have recruited Murray Goodwin from Sussex and also have Marcus North, their new one-day captain, available all season.

Glamorgan have already returned to training in earnest. “We are doing a few different things because we are going on a team bonding trek up in Brecon and we are also going on a bike ride,” Mott added.

“But the main focus is going to be working on our skills after a couple of weeks of fitness. We have a trip to South Africa planned and we leave on March 10. The guys went to Potchefstroom a couple of years ago before I came on board and we are looking to organise some quality opposition.”

When Glamorgan return from South Africa, they have friendlies against Gloucestershire and Worcestershire and a first-class fixture against the Cardiff MCCU Students on April 5 before their County Championship opener against Northamptonshire five days later at the Swalec Stadium.



Date: 05/02/2013 11:11:51 by Richard Thomas
In: Today | Glamorgan |