Wood out to be Ramsdens Soccer Star

Last season Ramsdens brought fans the fastest man in the SFL when Stenhousemuir player Grant Plenderleith streaked away from the field in the Final at Livingston’s Braidwood Motor Company Stadium to win ‘The Ramsdens Cup Dash for Cash.’

This year the sponsor has gone back in time to capture the Spirit of the 1970’s with visions of Kevin Keegan and Brian Jacks coming to mind after they announced a ‘Superstars’ style event, to find the inaugural ‘Ramsdens Soccer Star’.

All 30 SFL clubs as well as a player from Inverurie Loco Works and Wick Academy who played in the first round of this season’s Ramsdens Cup have selected a player to represent their club in the ‘Ramsdens Soccer Stars’ programme at one of three regional heats.

The heats start this weekend, Sunday, March 10 at the Aberdeen Sports Village, continue on Sunday, March 17 at the Kelvin Hall Sports Arena in Glasgow, and then finish 7 days later at the University of Stirling.

The heats have been split as follows

The nominated players will have to work hard as the format of the competition will see them undertake five key tasks, which are

• Sprint challenge
• Static rowing challenge
• Static cycling challenge
• Gym test – skipping & steps
• Football skills test

Points will be awarded according to performance and the highest scoring players from each heat will be invited to participate at the Ramsdens Soccer Stars Final at Scotstoun Leisure Centre in Glasgow just 4 days before Partick Thistle take on Livingston in the Ramsdens Cup Final on Sunday, April 7.

All the events will be filmed and be broadcast on SFL.TV.

The overall winner will pick up the title of Ramsdens Soccer Star as well as a cash prize for himself and his club in the following order -

• The Winning player will receive £1,000.
• The Winning player’s club will receive £2,000 for youth development.
• The Runner-up player will receive £300.
• The Runner-up player’s club will receive £500 for youth development.
• The player finishing third will receive £200.
• The losing finalists will each receive £100.

Montrose have nominated goalkeeper Sandy Wood to attend and the 26-year-old said: “I am not sure what I am letting myself in for. I was told there is a bit of running and rowing involved but I believe there could be more to it now.”

“I have seen the old Superstars programme on You Tube and that involved a bit of everything and having now seen the list of activities it looks good. I am quite comfortable with the sprint challenge, static row, static cycling and the gym work of skipping, steps and squats but I am not sure of the football test.”

“That part is perhaps not best suited to a goalkeeper.”

Wood added: “I go to the gym and keep fit regularly and I have done a bit of rowing in my time so I am looking forward to the first day at the Aberdeen Sports village. It should be a really challenging day and a change from normal football training.”

Wood should have plenty of energy to burn for the Ramsdens Soccer Star challenge as the form of on-loan Dundee goalkeeper John Gibson has seen him occupy a place on the bench recently.

Wood said: “It has been a very good season for Montrose and with only 9 games to go now it is all about ensuing we get into the play-offs. I played a lot in the first half of the season but not so much since John came in for his loan spell.”

There has been no moping from the shot-stopper who added: “You just need to get on with things in a situation like this. At this stage of the season it is all about everyone pulling together. Whether I get 2 minutes or 2 games or all the games between now and the end of the season it does not matter, what matters is getting to the Play-Offs.”

“I have kept myself ready and whilst it is frustrating for a goalkeeper as there is no other position you can play in, you always have to be ready even though you are not always called on. You can be called on in games as things can change really quickly and with points so crucial I have to be ready.”

Wood and Montrose are a good fit with the shot-stopper saying: “I played for Forfar for a couple of years and then had some time out of the game due to injury but I have been in and around Montrose for a while. In fact I have been there since playing for an under-12 team and moving up to their youth team. I left and then came back on loan and left again before re-joining in the summer of 2010.”

Local boy Wood added: “It probably helps that I live only 20 minutes from Links Park. They are my local team and it is great that they are doing so well this season. Everyone is really galvanised behind us and looking to help push us over the play-off line for the first time in 5 years.”

The upturn in results has come in manager Stuart Garden’s first season in charge and despite being a former goalkeeper the Links Park boss takes a much more holistic view with Wood saying: “The manager may have been a goalkeeper but he does not take the goalkeeper training or anything like that. He allows me to do that and that lets him concentrate on the full team and it is case of so far and so good.”

The Gable Endies started the season slowly with a defeat and a draw but by November they had reached a play-off place only to drop down again when Rangers travelled to Angus and won.

Wood, who played that day, found a silver lining in that defeat saying: “The game with Rangers that was shown live on ESPN was a great experience for everyone at the club. To be honest we are still disappointed at losing 4-2 as opposed to not getting the draw we almost secured.”

“It was great to see Links Park packed and I have not seen it like that before. To get 5,000 there as opposed to the usual 500 created a wonderful atmosphere and I thought we contributed a lot to a good game of football.”

Montrose have moved between third and fifth since then and they gained a small measure of revenge over Ally McCoist’s side with Wood saying: “David Gray scored a great goal in the 4-2 defeat and then he scored another cracker to get us a point at Ibrox. That goal had me off the substitutes' bench celebrating at Ibrox. It was great to get a point in that game as hung in there at one down and gave ourselves a chance of taking something the longer the game went on.”

A run of 3 wins in a row will be tested this weekend by Berwick Rangers down at Shielfield before Wood starts his work towards being the first ever ‘Ramsdens Soccer Star.’

A major component of Montrose’s recent fine run has been 19-year-old striker Martin Boyle who has scored 7 times in 5 games since returning to the club on loan from Dundee and Wood is glad Boyle is not in the running on Sunday.

Wood said: “I am really glad I am not sprinting against Martin Boyle as he is phenomenally quick. He is quicker now than when he left for Dundee and he was really quick when he left.”

“When he goes back to Dundee he should do really well if he keeps playing like he has been for us.”