A stalwart of Army football for more than 20 years, WO1 Keith Emmerson (RAPTC) faces one of the biggest tests in his coaching career as he leads the under-23s into Inter-Services action for the first time this month.
Having amassed more than 150 appearances for the Reds as a player and captain, as well as being a regular for the UK Armed Forces, the soldier was appointed as the set-up’s head coach in the summer with a view to using his experience to help develop the next generation of on-pitch talent.
Since then, more than 60 players have been assessed by his management staff over the course of two training camps and a series of friendlies before the team claimed the scalp of Camberley Town in the Aldershot Senior Cup.
Final preparations for the Forces showdown were getting under way as this issue went to press, with the Army facing the Royal Navy on February 4 ahead of a home clash with the Royal Air Force in the contest’s concluding fixture on February 19.
“The lads are hungry,” Emmerson told SoldierSport. “We have got some good players who have had academy experience at professional clubs.
“We’ve had four represent the senior squad in earlier camps and a lot of them are playing regular corps football, which has probably been lacking in previous years.
“It is always hard to gauge where you are in friendlies and Camberley has been our biggest test so far, but we believe the ethos we have created in the group has set the foundations for us to be successful.
“We will be going in blind for the game with the Navy, so for us it will be about getting the best from the squad. If we take care of what we need to do I am sure we will get a positive result.
“The RAF then play the Senior Service in the tournament’s second match so we will know more about them ahead of our game, which could work to our advantage.”
Predicting some personnel would be unavailable for the competition, Emmerson made an initial call for 45 players but as has become the case across Army sport, the pace of Service life has taken its toll.
“We have lost 20 due to deployments and exercises, but that is just the nature of military football,” he continued.
“We were expecting to lose around ten people, which is why we sent letters out to 45, so we could then get down to a final group of 24.
“We will leave no stone unturned in terms of our preparation and fingers crossed, we will be successful.”
