Ex-stopper is now bringing business acumen to Riverside

The barista cum businessman is now part of the club’s fabric too. He’s walked the walk as well as talked the talk - playing as a stopper and full-back for the Drumahoe side back in the club’s Intermediate days.

He took time out of his busy schedule last week to chat to the Sentinel about the board’s vision for the club and the need to rally support for the ambitious development of the ground that is designed to establish the Riverside as one of the safest and most user friendly venues in the country.

Trevor, of course, is disappointed the Drumahoe men failed to make any encroaches on the summit of the IFA Championship this season.

Sadly, a dismal string of results in the first half of the season saw them languishing perilously close to the bottom of the pile at one point.

“Before Christmas if we had been a bit more consistent things might have been different. But we are getting there now,” he reflects.

He gives huge credit to the organisation and nous of Manager Allan Blair, the redoubtable Head of Development coaching genius Paul Kee and coach Paul Carlyle for a remarkable turnaround which has seen ‘Stute exhibit Championship form over recent weeks and haul themselves up to fifth spot.

No joy for this year anyway but work continues off the pitch. Trevor explains the necessity of the ongoing fundraising drive - proudly supported by the Sentinel - and why the money is absolutely vital for the development of Institute FC.

“We’ve got funding for the basic health and safety works. That’s the structure, the stand, the seats, the disabled area, the lift, a new fence around the pitch, the toilets at the top end, a control room with a PA system and all in it.

“But the rest of it is going to be shells because the funding just wasn’t there for the whole lot. We got the plans done at the time for the whole lot,” he says.

Institute itself needs to raise a contribution of around £100,000 to complete the latest stage of the development scheme - which is part and parcel of an overall £1m improvement kicked off by Sports Minister Nelson McCausland last year. The Northern Ireland Executive is providing £800,000 towards the overhaul.

Only last week Trevor discussed the financial situation with President Charlie Ferguson and they reckoned between £200,000 and £300,000 was probably needed to finish off the current works.

“In terms of fundraising we are trying to get the rest of it kitted out up above for the viewing area,” he tells the paper.

“I was speaking to the President, Mr Charlie Ferguson, last night and according to Charlie it’s going to take up to £200,000 to £270,000 to finish off the whole lot on the same spec. as the rest of the building. Because you have to go by building control and health and safety and things like that.”

But despite the need for support for ‘Stute’s own contribution to the development things are looking up as anyone attending the games towards the end of the season can testify.

The new 650 seater stand replete with a magnificent viewing area for people with disabilities is all set for completion by mid-June.

Trevor says he’s very pleased with the results and thinks it’ll be a great asset for the club.

“That stand is supposed to be finished by the middle of June - the whole lot is to be finished by then,” he said. “There is that stand which is seating 650 people, upstairs there is going to be a viewing area for the disabled. I was up there last night and it’s an amazing view to be honest.”

“There are toilets at the end for the away supporters. It’s more amenities and making the ground more beneficial for supporters at the end of the day. Families especially,” he adds.

It’s a theme you inevitably come back to with Institute. It’s a family affair. That’s definitely how the chairman sees it.

“We are a family club. We have an up-and-coming youth academy as well. The youth teams have done very, very well this year. There are definitely two, maybe three going into the IFA youth league. The parents are then coming out to the matches. All that is generating. It’s true grass roots development,” he explains.

He reckons this grass roots work is already bearing fruit but that the dividends are likely to be even greater in future, particularly with the return of development maestro Paul Kee to the ‘Stute fold.

“Hopefully in another couple of years we’ll see some of these young players in the first team,” he says. “Some of the U18s players have already been involved in the first team set-up, training and different things. It’s a step in the right direction.”

The local entrepreneur also agrees that the work the club is doing in giving young people from Drumahoe and right across the greater Waterside area from Donemana to Eglinton a chance to express themselves in a sporting way is playing a role in promoting healthier lifestyles and keeping young people out of trouble.

“The hardest age is 15 and 16 and then 18 when they start getting a taste of alcohol and then they start running with girls and stuff like that,” he says.

“Those are the sort of distractions. You are hoping the young players have the want and ambition to play football because at the end of the day there is a foundation there.”

Trevor says young players will get a chance at Institute - an opportunity not afforded to the endless assembly line of kids who end up breaking their hearts sitting on the reserve benches of clubs with huge squads and resources in the lower divisions across the water. Stick with us and we’ll give you a chance is the clear message.

“We are in the championship now. Our ambition is to get back into the Premiership. At the end of the day if any young player has a bit of drive at fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen years of age - the opportunity is there for them to push for their place,” he says.

“That’s the age you really see the fruits of youth development. With development you really need to start around eight, nine or ten but this pays off then from 15 upwards. And if you have ambition as a local young player ‘Stute are prepared to give you a chance,” he promises.

And it’s not just about giving young players a chance. ‘Stute are also ready and willing to help out with local charities and good causes.

Last summer, for instance, Trevor was instrumental in clearing the Riverside Stadium for a charity fundraiser between Lincoln Courts and a Tesco select side in aid of the Children’s heartbeat Trust (CHT)

Waterside dad Neil Bronze - who organised the fundraiser in gratitude for the help his family received in their hour of need - recently told the Sentinel Trevor was especially deserving of praise for providing the ground. Only too happy to help, says Trevor.

“Definitely. If the pitch is available and in decent condition we’ll look to help any community or any organisation - if we think it’s right at the end of the day. And if it’s for children especially and from the local community where you are trying to build bridges and foster good relationships we are happy to help,” he said.

“This year alone we have played - ourselves, the first team and the U18s - friendlies with local sides all through the season to try and build that as well and try to get into the community, which is very important and bring it on from that,” he adds.

‘Stute as a community and family club is well documented but what about the practicalities of running a busy business on the main thoroughfare between Londonderry and Belfast.

The Sentinel turns up at the Coffee Stop and finds the Institute chair in his nine to five guise serving coffee and snacks, chatting to customers and making sure the business is running smoothly. How do you balance this with what’s very much been a football vocation for well over a decade now?

“At the end of the day my first commitment is my business for the simple reason that it is my livelihood for myself and my family. ‘Stute is close to my heart, as it is to my whole family. My wife is part of the ladies’ committee as well. So ‘Stute is much to the fore in the household,” he explains.

“The business - out of necessity - comes first but if something comes up during the day and I need to be there I’ll do my best to get there. With the ground being so close - I’ve enough staff here - I can scoot down ten minutes or half and hour to do bits and pieces, “ he says.

And does it help to have the business know-how when it comes to networking, building contacts and putting together sponsorship deals? Of course, implies Trevor, but as we all know times are hard at the moment and this has had an effect on cash flow of late.

“It does help. People come into the shop and you’re always chatting and asking if they’d be interested and the support’s great. But this last year, year-and-a-half, it’s been very, very tight.

“People are feeling the crunch all over. You want to ask and you do ask but are being turned down. But people are getting it tight and we understand that. Economically it’s difficult. Some companies don’t do it anymore.

“Though we’ve great sponsorship all over the ground. The majority of our sponsorship is in billboard advertising and that’s been there since day one when we got into the Premiership. There are good loyal supporters out there sponsoring us. We could do with more - don’t get me wrong. Every little helps,” he said.

The Sentinel asks if the club has tried approaching local schools with free ticket offers to try to get more young people to go to the matches.

The principle is to get 100 schoolchildren to turn up and if 20 per cent are hooked that’s progress. The paper learns that not only have ‘Stute reached out to local primary schools in this manner, the club pioneered the approach in the North West.

“We’ve been doing that for years. You might remember Omagh Town got a lot of publicity for that kind of initiative a few years ago. We were doing it before that.

“A couple of our committee members are in charge of that and we go around schools handing out season tickets,” he says.

The idea is to spread the net as wide as possible and the club wants kids from all over the Waterside - urban and rural - to attend games.

“We did it at the start of last year. We gave out 100 tickets to schools as far as Donemana, Broadbridge, Ardmore, Eglinton, the whole area. All primary schools. It wasn’t senior schools. It was away of driving the youth end of it. We got a good response from that. It could have been better but you have to get in there.

“Another example of how we could work with schools is by taking coaching sessions and that’s being talked about at the youth development end,” he says.

The Sentinel wanted to know if Trevor found it dismaying that folk not only appear more willing to watch ‘prawn sandwich’ corporations doing battle from their armchairs and barstools but some even head up the road or across the river to watch other clubs in other local grounds.

The paper recently witnessed two Blues fans - bedecked in Linfield regalia - board a bus at Drumahoe to travel to the Oval for a recent Big Two clash whilst ‘Stute warmed up for their 2 0 home win over Bangor across the road. What’s that about? Trevor is gracious and thinks the criticism - often made - is unfair.

“At the end of the day supporters going to support Linfield, Glentoran or even Coleraine or whoever, have probably been supporting those clubs for years,” he reasons.

“I know it is easy for some people to pick up on and it frustrates some people but at the end of the day - I used to do it. Then I got involved in Institute and it stopped. But at the end of the day I still follow the Irish League as well,” he says.

He puts it down to the fact that Institute’s arrival at senior level is a recent development and people - who supported Coleraine, Glentoran, Linfield as the only senior clubs available for 20 or 30 years - could not be expected to switch allegiance at the drop of the hat.

Those supporters, he says, are very welcome at the Riverside. And indeed many do turn up on the terraces when fixture schedules permit.

“We do get supporters from other clubs coming along to the ground. We get a few Derry City fans coming over who are very loyal. They come into the shop here.

“We get a few Coleraine fans coming in. If Coleraine isn’t playing or Linfield isn’t playing. If we have a game midweek we’d have a lot of people out,” he says.

Trevor heads off to look after business in the Coffee Stop but the extra-curricular activity never stops. There’s more work to be done both off and on the field.

And as he says: every little helps. “We are looking for sponsors for kit and backroom kit and things like that as well and any development of the ground as well. If anyone can give us materials or whatever, we are always open to donations. there’s a certain amount we need to raise ourselves. So anything at all that people can contribute would be appreciated and acknowledged by the club,” he says.