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Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive blogs about Paul Wotton’s latest presser

“THE RETURN OF THE FAB FOUR?”

Paul Wotton gave the Yellow Army some good news this afternoon. BBC Radio Devon’s Alan Richardson asked him if there was any sign of his injury problems easing. Paul reacted with something close to joy:

“Yes! We’ve had a really, really good week. Louis Dennis has trained. Callum Dolan’s had a full week’s training, as has Dylan Morgan, as has Sonny Lo-Everton, so really good news.”

He said that it will give him “a hell of a lot more” flexibility, and reported that the returning players had lifted the standard of this week’s sessions.

“It’s a knock-on effect, it’s great, but it’s also fantastic for the boys because they’ve signed for Torquay United and they want to play for Toequy United, and they’ve been more frustrated than anyone. It’s really hard when you’re injured as a football player, psychologically it can be very difficult to deal with and they’ve worked tremendously hard. They’ve been the ultimate professionals and it’s great to have them back out on the training ground.”

There were notes of caution though. Players are unlikely to be 100% straight away, and Paul thinks that Sunny Blu-Lo Everton and Dylan Morgan will need ongoing treatment throughout the season to try to keep their ankles in working order:

Devon Bowl

Interest in Tuesday’s trip to Wall Park will have gone up a notch with Paul’s confirmation that there are likely to be several first-teamers playing. He sees it as a great opportunity to get more minutes into the returning players’ legs. Also:

“It’s good for the community, isn’t it? Hopefully Brixham get a good crowd as well and make a couple of quid as well, which is great. I’m sure they’ll look after us very well. We’ll go down there and be very humble and we’ll have a game of football.”

Away Form

Paul gave some insights into why it is generally more difficult to get a result on the road. It seems so obvious, but it was interesting to hear a manager’s thinking. He references “getting to the game”, and “home mentality”: a determination from teams not to lose in front of their home crowds He acknowledged that results haven’t been good so far, He said there have been multiple factors, but:

“I’m absolutely convinced our away form will change, our away results will change.”

He said that although results haven’t been great, the stats are in fact pretty good, with more shots and “box entries” compared to the last 4 away games last season. United’s xG is also apparently better than 12 months ago.

“Ultimately, I feel it comes down to a player. Some players enjoy playing away from home, some don’t. Some can do it, some can’t, and I’m learning that about this squad.”

The Blank Saturday

On Gulls Eye View this week we asked what people are planning to do next weekend. Although the squad are likely to have a blank Saturday in the wake of their FA Cup exit at Totton, Paul won’t be taking a day off. He said he is likely to zip up the A303 to watch our next opponents Salisbury play Dorking in the Third Qualifying Round.

Ebbsfleet:

But first things first: this weekend’s opponents Ebbsfleet. Paul paid the customary respect to our Kentish visitors, who fell out of the National League last season. He pointed out that they have a strong squad, with several players boasting Football League experience. They have been low scoring but, equally, they have a good defensive record. He expects them to pose different problems than Slough, our last home opponents.