Football: League needs a cash boost from FAW, says Coyne; premier NEWS.

Byline: CHRISTOPHER BEESLEY

ABERYSTWYTH'S Brian Coyne celebrates his 500th game as a Welsh Premier boss on Saturday but admits he believes the league is no stronger now than it was when he started as a founder member in 1992.

The experienced boss, who will become only the second manager in the league's history to reach the 500-game milestone - after Caersws' Mickey Evans - when his side face Rhyl on Saturday, reckons the Welsh domestic game has failed to improve its standards over the past 14 years - both on and off the pitch.

He said: "In my own opinion, I am not convinced that the standard in the league has improved.

"Last season TNS brought a brand of passing football which we had not seen before in this league and it was a breath of fresh air.

"However, some of the pitches are not up to standard and are a complete joke.

"Although we get decent gates at Aberystwyth, when I was at Cwmbran, we sometimes had less than 50 people watching us."

He added: "I'm also concerned about the amount of lads who are coming through to the professional ranks.

"People go on about the likes of Andy Cooke and Owain Tudur-Jones but there should be far more going on to make the grade.

"I also know that the professional clubs in our division struggle to attract quality players from outside.

"I think that the whole league needs major investment from the FAW and it needs to be invested in the right things - not players wages."

Coyne's views on the health of the league overall might be sobering but he is pleased with how things are going at Park Avenue, where he took over from David Burrows last season.

Aberystwyth go into their game with Rhyl unbeaten in their opening three league games, having drawn 1-1 with Llanelli and defeated Caersws and Porthmadog 3-1 and 4-0 respectively.

Coyne said: "I'm not setting targets because that just brings unnecessary pressure, but we're looking to improve on last year.

"I'm really enjoying it here and I'm fortunate to have a great set of lads who are passionate about their football."

He added: "I haven't made vast changes to the squad I inherited and the squad was already full of quality when I came here, which is a credit to former boss David Burrows who is still here as a player.

"My ego isn't that big to think that I've got to take all the credit for turning things around and in truth, I've only added four or five players in total.

"A big boost for us is that at least a dozen of the squad are local lads and we've got a nice blend of youth and experience now."

Coyne spent a decade in charge at Newtown - twice guiding the club to runners-up spot in 1996 and 1998 before leaving to join Cwmbran in 2003.

He left the Crows after just over two seasons but was back in work with the Black and Greens after only a few weeks out.

Coyne said: "Having a couple of full-time teams in the league makes it difficult for the rest of us but I'm looking forward to a positive season with Aberystwyth."

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Brian Coyne