10:08am Friday 25th July 2008
By Ian Whiting
New assistant manager Carl Ruffer is settling into his Avenue role after a busy summer and cannot wait for the league to get started.
Dave Cameron’s chosen No 2 had to wait until his contract with League of Wales club Rhyl expired before he could link up with his former team-mate.
That included an excursion into European football as Rhyl were entered in the Intertoto Cup and faced a two-legged clash with Irish club Bohemians.
Ruffer played in both legs but his exit from the club coincided with their exit from the competition, from which the winners qualify for the UEFA Cup.
Having finally switched to Horsfall, Ruffer took charge of the side from the dugout in the second of their pre-season tour games in Spain, which resulted in a 2-0 win over Benus FC.
After casting a critical eye over the squad from the sideline, Ruffer got a much closer look during the first home friendly as he played 83 minutes in the 1-0 loss to a full-strength Macclesfield Town side.
He was in his usual position at the centre of the defence and played alongside new signing Mark Haran, who was handed the captain’s armband.
“It was a very competitive game and I thought we did well,” said Ruffer.
“You can see a lot out there on the pitch that you miss from the dugout. But you can see different things from that vantage point, so I’m glad I’ve seen both sides.
“I’m happy to be here at Bradford and looking forward to it. It will be good linking up with Dave again. We only had the one season together at Rhyl but we were at Chester City and Droylsden at the same time in our playing careers, so we go back a way.
“This is a great opportunity for me and I want it to be successful. It is my first managerial job but I have been involved on the coaching side before. I have passed some levels but I’m enrolling on a course that leads to the UEFA B qualification.
“You have to work through the badges because these days you can’t work anywhere without them. I want to gain as high a qualification as I can but these courses take time to complete.”
Cameron explained that there is more red tape and necessity for certain levels of qualification in non-league than in the full-time game.
He said: “You can work in the Football League without certain badges but not at our level. It’s a bit of a strange situation but the fact that Carl has been a professional player will be of some benefit.
“Having been a member of the PFA, they will help Carl with finances and placements on the relevant courses. They help the ex-pros to keep their experience within the game, which is only right and proper.”
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