The full story from the Torquay United press conference unveiling Wotton and Warnock

It has been a seriously busy day in the world of Torquay United.

Aaron Downes has left the club after six years of service, Paul Wotton named the new manager following his departure from Truro City and Neil Warnock will be acting as a football advisor at Plainmoor.

The flurry of activity culminated in a press conference staged at the Livermead Cliff Hotel in Torquay and the local sporting media gathered alongside representatives of Torquay United Supporters Trust and those responsible for bringing the Bryn Consortium to their position as new owners of the club.

The atmosphere was one of excitement, anticipation and genuine encouragement for a new era at the club. After introductions from new co-chairman Michael Westcott, Messrs Wotton and Warnock told the story behind their arrival at the club and their plans for a brighter future.

Here is the story of the Livermead Press Call, starting with the new manager, Paul Wotton:

“I am absolutely thrilled to be here; it is a great opportunity for myself. Torquay United is a club I know all about and a club I’m excited to be joining,” he said.

“It is time for me to make that jump and Torquay is the perfect jump for me. I’m very excited and genuinely thrilled to be here.

“This is the perfect step for me, from my previous club. I managed against Torquay on Boxing Day and there were nearly 4,000 people at the game. The atmosphere was great, I feel like I’m ready for that challenge and it’s the next logical step for me as a young manager.

“I was at Truro for five years, a big chunk of my life. Truro is a brilliant football club and there were successful times. When you leave a good club with good people, there is always an element of sadness but football is football.

“I have many good friends at Truro and memories that will live forever but it’s time to make a new chapter now and to make new friends. I’m an emotional guy, I’m quite intense when it comes to football and I just want to get going.  

“The club has a tremendous fanbase. There have been tough times of late but, with a new Board, it is a clean slate and exciting times for everybody. There is a vision that we all share.

“There is pressure in everything you do but pressure is what you allow it to be. Having a career in football, I was very lucky to be involved after leaving school and there is always pressure to win games, pressure to get promoted, to not get relegated, to earn another contract.

“Every game has pressure, whether you’re at the top of the league, in the middle or down the bottom, and you also have to manage expectations. If you don’t have pressure in football, what’s the point?

“I’ve only just left employment at my previous club but work starts now on recruiting players, and I’m in negotiations with a few of last season’s squad that I’m keen to keep. It’s going to be a busy time but that’s the same for every manager.

“I’ve got to find players that fit the criteria that I want, not just the ability but also the character, which is huge. Every successful team I’ve been in, as a player, an assistant or as a manager, has had a tremendous work ethic, tremendous will to win and tremendous togetherness.

“I will sign players that will give everything for Torquay United, that’s the only promise I can make. The 11 players on the pitch will give everything they’ve got for Torquay United, or they won’t be playing.

“I’m happy with the budget, it’s a competitive budget and it’s up to me to spend it well.

“Whatever days we train, we will be as fit as any team in the league because I pride myself on training hard, as the boys will find out, because if you can’t run, you won’t be able to play football.

“National League South is a long season and a robust league with lots of midweek games. There will be full-time players and also some supposed part-time players.

“There are a lot of players in the National League South and National League Premier who have a normal job, but they are also tremendous players. There are players who are plenty good enough to play in the Football League but they’ve chosen a different route of having a normal job while still being an excellent footballer.”

Sitting alongside Wotton was Neil Warnock, a legend of football management, who credits Torquay United with revitalising his career after he left Notts County to perform a Plainmoor rescue job in the spring of 1993.

This is the Warnock story on his return to Plainmoor:

“I didn’t ever envisage being back in Torquay but a passing chance, bumping into Michael [Westcott] on the train coming back from London and it just seemed a very good thing at the end of my career to put something back into football,” he said.

“If it wasn’t for Torquay, I don’t think I would have had the career I’ve had. I was only here for a short time but it was period where [my wife] Sharon and I had been in the top flight to join a club just about to get relegated out of the Football League.

“The games I had gave me the enjoyment to see genuine lads putting in a shift, people like Darren Moore, Paul Trollope and Tom Kelly. I had turned down Chelsea the year before and then got the sack at Notts County, which shows what football is all about.

“We absolutely loved it down here and it transformed the rest of my career.

“Paul’s got a good future in football and it’s nice for us to put Torquay back on the map. You can’t do it on your own as a manager, you need help, and the Board is the same.

“It is a great day for the club to look forward and put it back where it should be. I’ve always thought Torquay United could be a League One club, so we will see where we can go.

“Paul and I have been talking for a couple of years and somebody had to be on the end of a phone to support Paul because I’ve never seen a situation like they had at Truro, to have four or five different homes.

“They should have won the league in the Covid season, when the league got abandoned, but I said to Paul that things have a way of turning around.

“There are a lot of experienced managers that would like the job here but it just fits for Paul. I also felt like Michael was an honest guy and the other chaps I’ve met have been very nice, so we have to give it a go.

“You can’t really explain it to anybody, even members of your own family, but when you’ve had 43 years in an industry like football, it is very hard to switch off, which is why I went back to Huddersfield last year.

“I can’t carry on doing it at my age but I wanted a way to put something back into football, to use my experience to help a club. I love living down here, I loved it at Torquay, we had a fabulous time. I used to do my Friday morning set-pieces in the café at Meadfoot, it’s a special place for me.  

“I’ve always brought my teams down to play Bodmin and Tavistock, and all the clubs that get neglected. I love the Westcountry and Torquay.

“It’s going to be nice to help but let me make it clear that it won’t be straightforward for Paul. I think we’ve got one player signed and yes, we’re a big club, but we were a big club last year and nearly got relegated.

“The process is to get the players signed that Paul thinks will make a go of it. What really got me was the last two home games. They were amazing, where will you get a better atmosphere? It was actually quite emotional and Aaron did a great job to keep them up. I’ve never seen anything like the atmosphere at this level.

“It was a great end to the season and with the crowds that we get, nobody will want to come here. We want to get on with the job and put the pride back into the club.

“Paul is a level-headed lad and the art of management is not getting too high when you win, and too low when you lose.

“This is a difficult league and I felt it had to be somebody who knows the area. Paul fits all the criteria and I think the club fits his criteria. All credit to the guys for taking over the club and it’s a great challenge for everyone.”