STRIKER Rob Ogleby sees Wrexham as the perfect club to continue his footballing education.
The 20-year-old put pen-to-paper on a new one-year contract yesterday afternoon having spent the last five months of the 2011/12 Conference Premier League campaign at The Racecourse.
One goal from six appearances, four of which were from the substitutes’ bench, meant that Ogleby made an impact during the club’s run to the play-offs.
And now the ex-Coventry and Hearts attacker is looking to learn from player/boss Andy Morrell and assistant Billy Barr and continue to improve his all-round game.
“It is brilliant learning from the top players,” said Ogleby, who also spent time under ex-Chelsea, Tottenham and Rangers strike Gordon Durie while on loan at East Fife from former club Hearts.
“I need to score a few more goals and my hold up play could be better but I am always working on my game.
“Playing games will give me the experience and I just need to keep learning.”
On Morrell, Ogleby continued: “He always tells me to work hard and try and score goals.
“I always work hard and give 100 per cent and hopefully, with a few more games under my belt, I can score a few more goals.”
Indeed, it was Morrell who told Ogleby that he had done enough during his brief stint at the end of last season to earn a new contract for next term.
By his own admission, the Wales Under-21 international was relieved to have impressed the manager, and added: “I came down here in January not knowing what to expect and I don’t think anyone knew what to expect from me.
“I took a while to get going but I thought I did well once I started getting in the team.
“It was good knowing that I was going into the summer with a contract, it helps you relax.
“I hadn’t heard that there were any other offers for me but I wanted to stay here anyway because I really enjoyed my time here.
“I am just hoping that I can make a bigger mark on the team next season and score a few more goals which help us get promoted.”
Many young players are taken by surprise at the level of football on display in the Conference Premier, and Ogleby was no different.
“It is a better standard than I was expecting,” he said. “A few teams try and play football and we definitely try and get it down when we can and I think we are a good team.
“There are a few big centre halfs in the league but I enjoy the physical side of the game and it is all part and parcel of football.”
A hamstring problem picked up against Newport County ended Ogleby’s season early, but he is looking forward to being back fighting fit for pre-season and being ready to compete with his team mates for a place in the team.
The likes of Jake Speight, Danny Wright, Adrian Cieslewicz and Morrell all stand between Ogleby and a starting spot.
“The strikers we have got here are brilliant and we all offer something different,” he said when asked about the competition for places.
“For me the competition is just what we need because it makes everyone play better. We are all mates at the end of the day but all fighting for the same spot.”
- Former Port Vale and York boss Martin Foyle has been appointed as Hereford’s new manager.
Foyle, who also had a spell as head coach at Wrexham, was chosen from of field of more than 40 candidates to fill the vacancy created by Richard O’Kelly’s departure from Edgar Street in the wake of the Bulls’ relegation from the npower Football League.
The 49-year-old’s last job was with Northwich Victoria, who finished second in the Evo-Stik Northern Premier this season before being relegated for breaking financial rules, and Hereford chairman David Keyte insists Foyle’s non-league pedigree was a key factor in his selection.
“We had been strongly advised by many people to appoint a manager who has Conference experience,” he told his club’s official website. “Martin certainly has a wealth of experience as a player, coach, assistant manager and – most importantly – as a manager.”