kentonline.co.uk
Nuts & Bolts trio to play alongside Man Utd legends
Three Ashford players are missing the first week of pre-season - but they couldn’t have a better reason.Gary Lockyer, Barry Fuller and Will Moses are in Vietnam where they are set to line up alongside Manchester United legends including Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.
Ashford United striker Gary Lockyer secured the Vietnam trip. Picture: Ian ScammellThey are due to play two matches in the Vietnam-UK Football Festival which starts today (Thursday) and ends on July 1.Michael Owen, Dwight Yorke, Teddy Sheringham and Kleberson are also among the names listed.“We’ve lost three players for the first week but they went with my blessing,” said Ashford boss Lloyd Hume.“They’re going out and playing in a Man United XI in Vietnam with Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs.“Gary Lockyer sorted it out. It may have been from when he was at Wembley for the FA Cup final. “They approached me about it a month ago. “I said, ‘If you’re getting a couple of games of football in, and you get that opportunity, you go with my blessing, just make sure you come back in the same shape you went out in’.“It’s two games, all expenses paid.“They’re missing three sessions but they’re back the Thursday session before the Maidstone game (on July 5).”Fuller has completed a permanent move to Ashford after his contract at Dorking expired.
Barry Fuller has travelled to Vietnam after securing his Ashford future. Picture: Ian ScammellThe right-back, who turns 41 in September, spent much of last season on loan with his hometown club and was keen to do a deal.He has, though, relinquished his first-team coaching role after deciding to concentrate on playing. “We always knew, or hoped, we’d get a deal done with Barry and we’re delighted to get it done,” said Hume.“Someone of his experience as a player, and what he brings in the dressing room, is outstanding, so I couldn’t be happier to have him on board and committed to the club. “Barry, for the first time in his life, is not in full-time football, so he had to make the right decisions for him.“But, ultimately, we’d have moved heaven and earth to get him on board because of what I think of him as a player and a person.“When we’ve been training in the summer, he’s flying round like an 18-year-old and when I talk to him in the club he’s been playing padel tennis that morning at 6am.“He’s just a phenomenon. “The boys love having him around, he’s great to have in the dressing room and he’s as serious as anyone could be about what we want to achieve at Ashford, so he’s exactly what he want.“His level of training and his level of effort and commitment are second to none and his desire to win football matches is still the same as it was when he was an 18-year-old kid getting into professional football.“He had teams in our league and the league above chasing him so he was still a wanted man and I can see why.“He’s part of the academy we’re setting up next year, and we’ve advertised that through Gillingham FC and the partnership with them. “So he’s got that side of his job, and we’re doing a deal with his soccer school that we’ve been in partnership with this year, and we’re bringing that internally into the club more full-time, so it made sense for everybody that he signs for us.
Will Moses has joined Gary Lockyer and Barry Fuller in Thailand. Picture: Ian Scammell“But we still had to separate the deals out and make sure it was right because I didn’t want him playing for us because he felt he had no choice, I wanted him playing for us because he really wants to.“He said from the outset that’s what he wants but we still needed to get the right deal done for him, and we have.”Hume understands Fuller’s decision to give up his first-team coaching role at Ashford.He was working alongside the manager and assistant boss Craig Stone in the second half of last season. But Hume said: “He wants to focus completely on playing.“He wants to be treated like a player, act like a player, as opposed to a manager.“His attitude is he thinks he’s got two years left to play and he wants to fully focus on that.“That’s music to my ears. It’s easy to find a first-team coach, it’s very difficult to find a player like him.“If Barry’s fit, and his performance level was what it was at the end of last season, he’ll be the best full-back in the league.”