| Club mascot Spot defects to rival |
| Thursday 12 March 2009 |
 FOR four seasons Liam Pritchard was better known to football fans as club mascot Spot the Dog.But now Liam Pritchard, 24, from Powys, is one of the top dogs at a rival team in the Welsh Premier League. He has given up his role at mid Wales team The New Saints and become the secretary of Technogroup Welshpool after looking for a new challenge. But his new club insist the job of their mascot, Pogo the Panda, is under no threat with his arrival. Swansea City fan Mr Pritchard, 24, said he had become bored of dressing as a huge dog, and was looking to develop his role in football. Mr Pritchard, from Llanfechain, near Llanfyllin in Powys, said: "I was a mascot for four seasons at TNS and I was starting to get a bit bored with the job and was looking to develop my role in football. "The idea is to be the secretary until the end of the season and then I may have the chance of taking on the general manager's job. "I enjoyed being a mascot and a career highlight for me, as a Swansea City fan, was when TNS beat Cardiff in the semi-final of the FAW Premier Cup in 2007. "But I couldn't go to the match as Spot because it got out before the match that I was a Swans fan. "Another highlight was taking part in the mascots grand national in 2007, when I finished 10th. "I joined a few other mascots in rugby tackling a Sky News presenter live on air." Technogroup Welshpool said they had no reservations about appointing the one-time mascot to the crucial administrative role of secretary. Club director Clive Rowlands was full of praise for Mr Pritchard, describing him as "very keen and professional". "Enthusiasm is what you're looking for at a local football club because it can be a thankless task," he said. But what of the Technogroup Welshpool mascot now that Mr Pritchard is on the scene? "We've no plans to put Liam in Pogo's suit," added Mr Rowlands. [BBC News Mid-Wales, 11 March 2009]. |