TT BLOG

Clive Hayward – @Byehorse

Clive blogs about Paul Wotton’s latest presser

PRESS CALL- 19TH FEBRUARY 2026

The Gentlemen of the Press (it’s currently all men at Torquay United, sadly) were thin on the ground this afternoon. Diary clashes reduced the quota to two: the ever-reliable Dave Thomas and, well, me.

We gave it a bash though, and here is a summary of an interesting 15 minutes (we thought so anyway: Paul Wotton may of course have a different view- but as usual he gave us some interesting answers and insights into life at our favourite football club).

Injuries and Availability:

It’s not looking great this week. Paul told us that three players have been unable to train this week. Two will have fitness tests, whilst the other is definitely ruled out. We don’t know their identities yet, but there is speculation that Saturday might be too soon for Jordan Young to have recovered from the gash he sustained against Maidenhead last Saturday.

Paul lamented the high number of “contact injuries” we have sustained this season, but pointed out there is nothing you can really do to avoid them, as opposed to muscle injuries where gym work and thorough warm-ups are protective factors.

Jordan Dyer and Callum Dolan remain on the long term list, although the club website pictured Jordan at training today, “in the early stages of his rehabilitation from his hamstring tear.

Outbound loans:

Matt Wonnacott: It’s a short term move to the far end of Lyme Bay for our young keeper, who is going on a one-week emergency loan to Weymouth. He will be on Boris Johnson’s old stomping ground on Saturday as the Terras travel to Uxbridge in the Southern Premier.

Paul said it’s also likely that Matty Carson and Denzel Akyampong are also due to have loans finalised soon.

My understanding is that Sonny Fish- recently returned from Folkestone Invicta- will be available for selection at Eastbourne.

Eastbourne (a):

The plastic pitch holds no fear:

“We train on it…….(and) at least we know the game’s going to be on.”

Wotton doesn’t think Saturday is a “free hit” for Eastbourne, who have sacked their manager following a catastrophic season which has seen them slump from third last season to bottom this February. He pointed out that the players will all have their own reasons for trying to dig in to get a result against Torquay.

He believes that although, of course, “results are everything”, performance levels since we played Hornchurch at home before Christmas have been high. Basically, he is pleased with how his team is going about games, saying that he felt the performances against Chippenham and Maidenhead deserved six points rather than the single one the Gulls gathered. It would be late in the season to try to increase those levels, but by and large he is happy with what his team are producing:

“You don’t always get what you deserve.”

Eastbourne will be an overnight stay,. I asked Paul if he could give fans an idea of how this works:

He prefers to arrive late on the night before a game, meaning that we normally train before we leave rather than on arrival. There will be an evening meal and some time to chill out, before getting an early night. He explains that he favours a late arrival because:

“I like the boys to get to bed as soon as they can. I always find it really strange when you’re in a hotel (room) you end up lying down whereas at home you sit down. I think when you’re lying down you become lethargic, so I like them to get straight to their beds.”

On matchday, breakfast is optional but he’s strict on timings: it needs to be done by 9.30.

Typically, squad & staff will then go for a walk together, before returning for a pre-match meal. There will then be a team meeting when Wotton will name the team and talk to the players about how he wants to play and what he wants to achieve, looking in particular at set-pieces.

It is then all aboard the bus, usually for a trip of about 45-60 minutes (he’s not a fan of staying too close to the away ground).

It was an interesting insight, although he was at pains to point out:

“It’s often not quite as enjoyable as people think!”

Worthing:

The plan for Worthing is to get through Saturday first! Paul acknowledged that they are in poor form at the moment, but agreed with my observation that the Mackerel Men remain a very good team,

I dare say many Yellows would be happy enough with a repeat of last year’s pulsating 2-2 draw, when a late Cody Cooke penalty secured a valuable point after Sam Dreyer was sent off- a red card Torquay successfully appealed.

Togetherness is Critical:

It was revealed this week that as well as funding the loan of Joe Hatch from Plymouth, the Torquay United Supporters Trust has also agreed to cover the costs for young defender Ed James to join for a month from Exeter and for the extension of the highly-promising Kieran Wilson’s stay until the end of the season.

The Trust has also set itself the challenging goal of raising £100,000 for the club each year, standing shoulder to shoulder with the Bryn Consortium as we try to build for success.

The Boss described this as: “Amazing”.

He said that having everybody rowing in the same direction is:

“Critical. I think togetherness is a huge thing in football. Not just the togetherness of the players, but the players feed off the fans, the fans feed off the players, the ownership feed off the players, the players need the ownership: everybody needs the finance, That obviously comes from the fans as well, putting their hands in their pockets to come & watch us. I always say to the players we’re one big family. Families fall out, but you make up and you get on with it…sometimes fans will have the hump, sometimes I will have the hump, sometimes the players will, but ultimately, we all want the same thing don’t we. We’re all here for the common good, and that common good is Torquay United Football Club.”