Torquay United ‘aiming for promotion’ as minimum aim

Torquay United winger Jack Stobbs says he is seeing the coming season as a ‘fresh start’ and promotion is the minimum that the team wants to achieve. Stobbs joined the Gulls on loan from Oldham Athletic in March and played 10 games as the team battled hard to avoid the drop from the National League.

In the end Torquay went down after finding the damage done last year just too much to overturn, but the squad – including 26-year-old Stobbs – looks very similar to the one that worked so hard after his arrival, and the right-sided midfielder is excited by the new challenge.

Despite the disappointing ending, Stobbs certainly enjoyed his first taste of playing for Torquay after joining from an Oldham team he was not getting game-time with. Speaking to Torquay’s official website from his holiday base in Thailand, Stobbs said: “I loved it, it was so out of the blue as well, from first hearing about it to coming down was a matter of two or three days I think. “It was just something completely different for me, in terms of location – the area was completely different to what I am used to.”

Read More – Torquay United goalkeeper Rhys Lovett signs new contract

Stobbs was a trainee at Sheffield Wednesday before joining Port Vale in August 2017. Subsequently he played for Livingstone in Scotland before signing for Oldham in 2021. He played 25 times for the Greater Manchester club but his first season ended in relegation from the EFL.

Stobbs played at Plainmoor on the first day of last season when Oldham came for a 0-0 draw – but he lost his place in October. He says the idea of playing for Torquay entered his head on his first visit.

“In a frustrating season I had myself, with not playing for a long time, it was exactly what I needed,” said Stobbs. “I remember when we came down on the first weekend to play against Torquay, and I remember going home to my girlfriend and saying ‘I wouldn’t mind playing down there’.

“It was a red-hot weekend and I just liked the feel of the place. When the opportunity came up it was a no-brainer really. What I wanted was to come down and play every single minute, which I think I did apart from the game where I came off at half time.

“I didn’t really know where I was going to be fitness-wise. I tried to keep myself as fit as I could up at Oldham, but without playing games it’s not the same. So I was sort-of going into it hoping for the best really. I felt I did well, but with a full pre-season and that fitness under my belt I will be able to show a lot more as well.

“It is a massive fresh start because the last season was very stop and start for me, so just being somewhere I feel like I am appreciated is a massive thing in football.”

With 16 players now signed on the the squad looking pretty strong for the level Torquay will be playing at, and many fans are confident of winning the National South title for a second time. Although Stobbs shares that optimism, he does suggest it won’t be quite so easy.

“I am very confident going into this season but I also know that it won’t be as easy as what some people might think,” he said.

He added: “Promotion is the absolute minimum – but if we can win the league then that’s what we are all here for. Hopefully it is as smooth as that – but like I say, we are not taking it lightly.”

Get the best stories delivered to your inbox every day. Choose what you love here .