Matt Gould has bolstered the Yeovil Town goalkeeping team joining as a player/goalkeeper coach having departed National League Premier side Altrincham.
The 30-year-old played ten games for Alty last season and takes on coaching responsibilities for the Glovers’ glovemen following the departure of Phil Osborn a couple of weeks ago.
In his interview with the club’s YouTube channel, Gould said the move was partly down to geography with his family being based in Portishead, near Bristol.
He said: “I am local to Bristol, my family live in Portishead, my Mum and Dad live about 20 minutes away, so that is one reason but Yeovil is a massive club and I am really excited to be here.
“The Gaffer (manager Mark Cooper) has had a lot of promotions and I am really excited to work with the staff here and a group of players which have just won promotion, so it is a new opportunity for me.
“I love doing both roles (coaching and playing) because I still love to play but I also really enjoy coaching. Over the last four years I have had some really good relationships with my goalkeepers and playing in some massive games, so I am excited to be here and hopefully get out on that pitch one day.”
Delighted to sign for another fantastic club as player/coach. Hopefully we can have another season like last year. Nice to be back down south closer to family too. https://t.co/H5imtFIwSw
— Matthew Gould (@mattgkgould) July 1, 2024
The new arrival joins youngster Ollie Wright, who joined on a season-long loan from Premier League side Southampton last week, and Will Buse in the Huish Park goalkeeping group.
Speaking about Wright, Gould added: “When I spoke to the Gaffer, he had already brought Ollie to the club. He had a really good season last year (on loan at both Worthing and Bath City), he is a tall boy, good with his feet. I watched a fair few of his clips over the summer and I am really looking forward to working with him.
“He has obviously got a great background with Southampton, so I am looking forward to working with their coaches and hopefully between us we can have a really good goalkeeping department and keep clean sheets for the club.”
He comes from a good sporting family with his father, Jonathan, having played between the posts for Celtic, his grandfather, Bobby, being the former FA Cup-winning Wimbledon manager who was also in charge of Wales at the end of the 1990s, and his uncle, Richard, being a former chief executive of Somerset County Cricket Club.
Speaking of his family, he added: “I want to make them all proud. My first goal was to be a professional footballer and I managed to do that ten years ago when I started out at Cheltenham Town and to make my way in the game has been a dream come true and hopefully I have another ten or 12 years of at least being a player-coach.”
Gould is also an international having represented New Zealand as a result of the time he spent in the country when his father was player-manager of Hawke’s Bay United. He played two friendly games in January 2022.
He joined Altrincham at the start of the 2020-21 season and spent a three-month stint on loan at Nantwich Town. In 2022 his role was extended to include a goalkeeper coaching role whilst he completed his qualifications.
Quite where Buse, who started last season between the posts in National League South with the Glovers and then joined Bath City on loan, fits in the future plans of Cooper remains in question – but with pre-season training underway this week, we may well find out soon.