TT BLOG

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive blogs about Paul Wotton’s latest presser

“DON’T MENTION BISHOPS CLEEVE!”

On the 24^th Anniversary of 9/11 and 363 days after last season’s shock FA Cup exit, Paul Wotton bristled somewhat when asked about that dreadful day in Goucestershire. Understandably, he wants Torquay to put it behind them:

“If we keep always going in the past we’ll never embrace the future”

Clearly it is likely to be in the minds of most supporters as we contemplate a difficult second round qualifying tie at Totton on Saturday though. He described the FA Cup as a “massive priority.”

There seems no doubt that Totton will be difficult opponents. The manager had this to say about them:

“They got promoted last year and I’ve got to say that they’ve handled the National Leagiue South really well. They’re a physical team and they’ve got a wealth of experience: a lot of players who have played at a high level, much higher than they were playing in last season which is why they’ve got promoted. They’re well managed, they’re a good club and we’re in for one hell of a game.”

It should, at least, be played on a good surface: he explained that Totton host Southampton Under 21s and Women’s teams, and that the Saints maintain the pitch to a high standard.

The rest of his regular press conference was pretty upbeat.

Looking back to the 4-2 win against Slough last week, he said:

“There were elements of our play that I was over the moon with. Lots of very very good stuff and things that we have been working on from preseason. It’s getting there and slowly, slowly I can definitely see little improvements in every game, tiny little things that not everyone will see…very, very pleasing.”

There was short term pain but longer-term gain in the weekly injury bulletin:

Louis Dennis – likely to miss out on Saturday. He was tweaked what Wotton described as a “grumbling” hamstring, and frustratingly it’s an injury which he (Wotton) thinks could perhaps have been avoided if the 32 year old hadn’t needed to play so many minutes recently in the absence of others.
Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Dylan Morgan are both ahead of schedule in their recoveries. Both have been “back on the grass” this week, which Wotton described as “fantastic news”.
Callum Dolan is back in training. Although probably not in contention for Saturday he is now “clinically fit” and clearly not far away from a return.
Sonny Fish has been: “On the Ultra G running machine this week which is another huge step forward.”

Munashe Sundire will have his operation on Saturday and looks likely to be out for 4 to 6 months:

“We’re devastated for him. He’s going to be a huge loss to us but that is an unfortunate part of football”.

There was also an update on the two loan players:

Keane Anderson – is available for the Totton match: Aldershot clearly aren’t concerned about him being “cup tied”.
We won’t see Josh Phillips again: Luton won’t allow him to play and his 28 day loan expires on Monday.