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Mark Cooper’s frustration with his Yeovil Town side was clear in his post-match interview following this afternoon’s FA Cup defeat. The Glovers tripped at the first hurdle of this season’s competition, losing 1-0 to National League South side Chesham United.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Chris Spittles, Cooper bemoaned his side’s attacking play on the day and in previous weeks. It was another game of keep-ball from the Glovers, but no cutting-edge.

Cooper said: “Full credit Chesham, they hung in there, didn’t they? We had all the play – dominated the game. We had loads of play around the edge of their box, but we didn’t get opportunities to kill it off.  We were really sloppy at the top of the pitch today. We didn’t take care in and around the penalty area. We should be scoring at least two or three today.”

Expanding on his side’s woes in front of goal, he added: “We haven’t scored enough goals for our play. That’s another game where we haven’t [scored]. We scored one last week and we dominated the game, we had loads of chances – we scored one. We scored one the week before, scored none the week before that, we scored none today, you know. So we can only do so much.

“We get the ball safely from the our goalkeeper, and we play nice, and we get the ball to the edge of their box and it breaks down, or we pick the wrong option, or we miss the target, or we smash it straight at the keeper. I think there’s one great bit of play where Josh Sims has got an open goal from five yards, and he hits it straight at the goalie, just roll it in the corner with a bit of composure. So, really frustrating. 

“we are really nice to watch from tee to green, but once we get on the dance floor, not quite enough”

Yeovil started the day with Ciaran McGuckin, Josh Sims, Frank Nouble and Jordan Young as the attacking quartet, and were able to introduce Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Sam Pearson in the second half, but still couldn’t find a way through. Expanding yet further on his side’s woes in front of goals, Cooper really mixed his metaphors…

“If you look at our forward line, we’ve got Josh, Sims, who played 20-odd games on the Premier League, got Frank [Nouble], who’s played in the Premier League. We’ve got Ciaran McGuckin, who’s a young lad, scored two in two for us, and got we’ve Jordan Young, who was player of the year last year. So, you know, we expect. It’s not just the forwards, because we have set pieces, we had free kicks, shots from the edge of the box, but the forward boys have got to start scoring.  I’ve said to them in there, I can’t keep defending you if we keep missing chances and keep taking the wrong shot or finding the goalkeeper. Your job in the team is to score great goals. And we are really nice to watch from tee to green, but once we get on the dance floor, not quite enough.”

The set piece winner came deep into stoppage time through Jack Cawley’s header after the Chesham man rose highest above Raphael Araoye to break Yeovil hearts.

“We give them a free header. Our centre-half young Raph [Araoye], he’s coming out of U21s football, you have to learn that you have to head that ball. You can’t let your man jump above you, because that one action means that we’re out the FA Cup and not going back to a replay. So it’s great for Raph, because he has to learn that that can’t happen. And I’m sure Bristol City will be delighted, because that’s part of his learning. But, it doesn’t help us at the moment.

“[I’ve got] no qualms about the overall performance. We looked comfortable, just not ruthless enough in front of goal, and that’s been the case all season,” he added.

When asked what the next steps are to find the goals and if he needs to find the ‘devilment’ in them, Cooper said: “We either do that, or we say to the chairman, right, we need to bring some more attacking players in, because the ones we’re not we’re not quite firing. But I’ve said to them, I’ll stick with them, we keep working with them and try and make them better. And that’s your job as a coach.”

On a positive, Cooper said he expected to have Aaron Jarvis back next weekend, but that he could have been back for today: “We missed out on the protocol by 12 hours. You know, [I’m] not sure we did everything properly. We should be having Jarv coming off the bench today and winning us the game, but we didn’t, and we’ll have to wait until next week.”

Cooper finished off by setting the bar for the next few games, and promised a hard week of training for his team.

“Now it’s going to be a tough week for the boys. They’ll be in all week, and we have three games now, Wealdstone, Tamworth and Maidenhead that I want to go and take a real big points haul to propel us up the table.”

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Manager Mark Cooper will take nothing for granted as he takes his Yeovil Town side to Chesham United determined not to become the victim of an FA Cup giant-killing this weekend.

The boss was in the stands in Buckinghamshire as the National League South side booked their place in the competition’s fourth qualfiying round with a 4-0 win over Bishop’s Cleeve in a replay on Tuesday night.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead of the tie, Cooper said: “I enjoyed the game, it was a competitive game, Bishop’s Cleeve had some chances but Chesham were good. They are two leagues above Bishop’s Cleeve and I think that showed in the end, they have some good players that we came up against last year in the National League South, so we are expecting a tough game.

“The rules of the FA Cup are that you cannot take any team lightly, you have to go there and play well. If we turn up and think (this is going to be easy) we are going to be in trouble. We have done the same amount of preparation for this game as we have any other game. They are not that many places below us in the football pyramid, so we have to be right at it and we have to play really well to win.”

He added: “We want to pay full respect to Chesham, they have got through some rounds to get to this stage and we have to respect that. I would not disrespect them by giving people minutes for the sake of it, we are going to pick the strongest team we can. We want to get to the third round and pull a Premier League team and we have to dream, but I am sure Chesham are doing the same. They got promoted last year, they are brilliant, lovely people and they got me a cup of tea and a bit of cake the other night, so we will give them our full respect.”

Mark Cooper is hoping to have forward Harvey Greenslade back in the squad at Chesham. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

The Glovers’ boss has vowed to play his strongest team and hopes to have full-backs Alex Whittle and Michael Smith available for the game. Whittle missed last weekend’s 1-0 home win over Dagenham and Redbridge with a shoulder injury suffered in the goalless draw at Sutton United two-and-a-half weeks ago, whilst Smith came off at half-time against Dagenham.

Cooper confirmed Whittle has trained this week whilst Smith had a scan on a hamstring injury and, if the results came back clear, he would be available for the Cup tie. He is also hoping to have forward Harvey Greenslade in the squad for the first time since he suffered a shoulder injury at the end of August.

Striker Aaron Jarvis missed last weekend with concussion trained on Thursday and the Glovers are waiting to see if he suffers any ill effects before deciding whether he is available to face Chesham. Cooper said that the striker was working through the FA’s concussion protocols – you can hear him explain them in the video on the club’s YouTube channel, see below.

One definite change from the side which started the win over Dagenham will be Dylan Morgan who is cup tied having played in this year’s competition’s earlier rounds whilst on loan at Weston-super-Mare. Fellow loanees goalkeeper Will Buse, defender Jordan Thomas and full-back Corey Koerner are also cup tied, but were unlikely to feature at this stage even if they were not.

There was no question in Thursday’s press conference about whether Yeovil’s own loanees, goalkeeper Ollie Wright (Southampton), striker Ciaran McGuckin (Rotherham United), wideman James Plant (Port Vale), would be allowed to play by their parent clubs. One assumes Wright’s appearance before the media on Thursday means he is available, but goalscorer McGuckin and Plant were both influential in the win over Dagenham.

Rotherham United loanee Ciaran McGuckin has two goals in his last two matches for Yeovil Town. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

If you ever wondered what playing in the FA Cup means, Cooper was able to remember his first match in the competition. It also happened to be his first professional start in the second round of the competition for Exeter City against Maidstone United in December 1989, he recalls scoring with a header in a 1-1 draw with the Grecians winning the replay four days later to make the third round. Ironically Maidstone had put Yeovil out in the previous round.

On the competition, the Glovers’ boss said: “I grew up in an era when you were watching the television coverage at 9am when the whole build-up to the final started. There were interviews with players in the hotels, it was terrific and you would be mesmerised by it from 9am until 7pm – and then you would get your ball and go and try and pretend you had just played in the game.

“At our level it can be the lifeblood of a football club in terms of the revenue it brings. The further you progress the more money you get and there is always that dream of pulling Manchester United or one of the other big boys which can transform the fortunes of your club for the future, that is why everyone is desperate to have a good run in the FA Cup. It would be nice if we could be sat here in January talking about an away day at Old Trafford, but we have got some work to do starting with a really good team on Saturday.”

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper‘s red card in the dying seconds of a 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic last month has been overturned, the club have confirmed.

The boss was sent to the Boundary Park stands by referee Paul Marsden for his complaints after a loud penalty appeal for a foul on defender Morgan Williams inside the box.

In his  interview after the game, Cooper’s assistant Chris Todd said the red had been shown for “persistent moaning” at the match officials.

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper believes that another performance like the one his side showed on their last outing at Huish Park will see them end their winless run of five matches.

The Glovers host Dagenham & Redbridge, who sit two points and two places above them in the National League Premier table, on Saturday, having drawn 1-1 at against Aldershot Town at Huish Park last weekend.

Speaking ahead of the match, the boss said: “We played really well, creating some good chances and we were committed and I thought we deserved to win the game. If you are scraping 1-0 wins and not playing well, you are going to start losing game, but if you are performing like we are, with the spirit and commitment we have, we can go and win lots of games.

“It is just another game for us, you cannot win every game and you go through periods as a team where you do not win some games. It is (the media’s) job to make a thing out of it and it is my job to get the team to get performances and if we do that, the wins will come. But we are still picking up points and that is the main thing.”

Cooper said that full-back Alex Whittle was suffering from a shoulder injury sustained in the goalless draw at Sutton United and could be a doubt for the weekend. However, Bristol City loanee Raphael Araoye is back training with the side having been missing with a dead leg in recent matches. The towering defender played and scored for his parent club’s Under-21s on Monday.

Forward Harvey Greenslade is also back in training having been missing since the end of August with a shoulder injury. There was no update given on the fitness of either full-back Michael Smith (hamstring) or midfielder Josh Sims (knee), who were both involved in the pre-match warm-ups but not in the squad against Aldershot.

James Plant puts a cross in. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Cooper spoke highly of on-loan Port Vale winger James Plant, who joined on loan until January last weekend, and came on as a second half substitute for Whittle last weekend.

The manager said: “When a chance to get a player of James’ quality at our level, you have to try and get him. We have been chasing for a long time and we got the nod we could do it and he showed in his performance what an asset he can be. We had another young (loan player) in Ciaran (McGuckin) at the top of the pitch, who was very good and scored a great goal and set up two other brilliant chances for the other forwards.

“He has pace and he carries the ball, the other wide players we have are intricate players, but James is a runner and he complements the other players we have. We has two foot and can play on both sides either at full-back or down the wing, so he is a great acquisition.”

Dagenham fielded a much-changed side as they competed in their first outing in the National League’s pointless new competition designed as a fig leaf for the footballing authorities’ willingness to give in to the Premier League’s complaints of fixture congestion and scrap replays from the FA Cup first round onwards.

They drew 5-5 against Tottenham Hotspur Under-21s before ‘losing’ on penalties for an additional bonus point due to the ridiculous rules of a ridiculous new competition which benefits no-one other than the game’s richest sides.

Two players who have featured in the Daggers’ first-team, defender Christian N’Guessan and striker Reece Grego-Cox, both went off injured in the match. On Thursday, the Londoners announced the signing of Peterborough United’s transfer-listed central defender Romoney Crichlow, who has featured once for Posh this season having started last season as a highly-rated centre-back.

Cooper is not giving too much credence to the visitors’ exertions in midweek and predicting a tough match against a side which drew 1-1 at home to Solihull Moors last weekend, but have picked up just six points from their six matches on the road this season.

The Glovers’ boss said: “They changed a lot of their team and give minutes to some of the boys that needed it. Some of their starting players played as well, but I do not expect them to be any weaker or stronger. They have some good, experienced players and they can cause problems on their day with Junior Morais and Josh Umerah up front, they are a handful at this level.”

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper believes his side’s performances will bring results after they were held to a 1-1 draw against Aldershot Town at Huish Park this afternoon.

The Glovers fell behind after just seven minutes when Josh Barrett lifted a shot over goalkeeper Ollie Wright, but on-loan Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin levelled after 58 minutes.

The result means that Yeovil have not won since the 4-3 victory at AFC Fylde at the start of the month, but they sit comfortably in mid-table in the National League Premier table after 12 matches.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins after the match, Cooper said: “Results are a by-product of good performances. You can fluke the odd result, but if you want to consistently win you have to perform well. Performances are the key indicator and if we keep performing at that level, we have no worries at all. You can see a really committed group, I thought the work-rate was incredible and we got back in to it and we should have won it.

“I have full faith in the players. We should win the game but when we play like that, I can put up with that. Results can go either way, but performances are key and if we keep performing like that we will be really good.”

 

Ciaran McGuckin pulls Yeovil level after 58 minutes. Video courtesy of Debs Curtis.

The stats at the final whistle showed the Glovers had seven shots on target, compared to the visitors five chances, with a further three off target, compared to Aldershot’s four off-target efforts. 

The manager added: “I thought we played really well. We created some brilliant chances, we had two clear one-v-ones in the first half and I think we had 11 chances which we had a chance to score from and we only take one. But as long as we are creating chances like that, I am really cool with it. I thought the players worked their socks off again, the commitment was incredible and you could see we were pressing really hard at the end to get the winner and it just did not fall for us. 

“We got caught from our corner when they scored which sometimes young players do not take on information about where they need to be stood and it leads to a counter attack, but that happens. The lad gets a free shot from our left hand side. I thought we reacted really well, created some brilliant chances and you can tell by the reaction of the crowd, they stayed with us until the end, and I thought it was a really good performance.”

McGuckin, making his third appearance having joined on loan just over a week ago, showed calmness in front of goal as he latched on to a pass from Jordan Young to finish across Aldershot keeper Marcus Dewhurst. The 20-year-old was replaced by Aaron Jarvis, who started on the substitutes’ bench, just after the hour mark.

For Cooper, the calmness of the finish was not surprise, he said: “That is what he does. He put Jordan Young in for the chance, he put Frank (Nouble) in for his one-v-one and he scored. He blew up on an hour and the plan was always to freshen it up and put Jarv (Aaron Jarvis) on, but he is a real finisher. His gift is finishing and running in behind and we saw that today.”

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New signing James Plant will be an exciting “ball carrier” for Yeovil Town having joined on loan from League Two side Port Vale, according to Glovers’ boss Mark Cooper.

The manager said the 20-year-old, who made 35 appearances for his parent club in League One last season, had only arrived in Somerset on Friday and was yet to train with the squad. He is named among the substitutes’ for today’s home match with Aldershot Town.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Josh Perkins ahead of the match, Cooper said: “He is one we have been looking at for a while, we were waiting until he was available. He is an exciting player, a ball carrier, he just wants to run and cross the ball and shoot, so I think he will be one who will excite the fans.”

Winger Dylan Morgan does start in the National League Premier fixture following his return from a loan spell at Weston-super-Mare, one level down in the non-League pyramid. 

The manager insisted his early return from a three-month spell in north Somerset was always part of the plan.

Cooper said: “Dyl picked up a niggle in pre-season and it knocked him back and we had to get him fit as quick as we could and the best way for him was to go out on loan and play some games. I said at the time that if he goes out, plays his games and does well, we will put him in the team. That is what we have done. He can’t have done any more, he has gone to Weston, played well, scored some goals, so he comes back and gets an opportunity.”

Neither side lining up is in great goal-scoring form with Yeovil without a goal in their last four matches and their opponents having only scored once in their last five matches.

On loan Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin leads the line at Huish Park today, supported by Morgan, Jordan Young and Frank Nouble, with striker Aaron Jarvis dropped to the substitutes’ bench.

Cooper added: “(Aldershot) will get after us, they are very forward thinking. They play with two number tens and it will be a difficult game. They are not in great goal-scoring form and nor are we – so it could be 9-9, couldn’t it?! 

“We are not doing anything differently (in training). Statistically we are getting the ball in the right areas , it is just we have to produce more quality when we get in those areas, we can’t get there and smash it 40 yards over the bar or cross it behind the goal, we have to have a bit of quality.“

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Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper believes results will come for his side if they keep on performing as they have done in recent games.

The Glovers take on Aldershot Town at Huish Park on Saturday looking to break a drought of four games without a goal which has seen them collect two points from a possible 12 with the most recent coming in a goalless draw at Sutton United on Tuesday night.

The manager said he believed the 1-0 home defeat to Solihull Moors which started that run was the only time his side had not performed this season, and he called on the home support to get behind his team this weekend.

Speaking on Thursday, Cooper said: “If we keep getting performances, they are the key. I know everybody looks at results as the be all and end all, but if you keep the performance levels up, the rest follows. We need the place to come alive again like it was last year. The Ebbsfleet game, the atmosphere was electric from the off, and I know we have not played particularly well in other games, but we have not recaptured that. But sometimes the players need a bit of a lift and I am hoping the fans can give the boys that lift. If you keep telling someone they are not very good, but if you keep cheering them on, that can only help.”

The Glovers have drawn a blank in front of goal in their last four matches having scored seven in the two fixtures prior to that run, but the manager insists the intent is always to try and get goals.

He said: “Nothing has changed, we don’t say ‘we don’t want to score, we will get everyone around the ball’. There are some tactical geniuses out there that keep telling us we have too many men behind the ball, but we want to go and attack. We usually play with two wingers and two strikers, either two up top or one in behind, and we usually try and push our full-backs on. So it is not a case of sitting back and trying to nick a goal, we want to get at the opposition.

“We battled really well in a tight game at Oldham, they got the rub of the green and we didn’t, and then (at Sutton) we played well for 60 minutes and had another penalty decision that went against us. I was happy with the effort and commitment and if you keep working that hard and doing the right things.

“We defend as a team and we attack as a team. We can look at what we are not doing or we can say we look organised and committed and if we keep doing those things right, I am sure things will turn. It is the small things that are not going right for us at the minute, getting the rub of the green on decisions, a slight misplaced pass in front of goal, those things will turn.”

Michael Smith limps off early in the second half of the 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic.

Full-back Michael Smith, who missed the midweek match with a hamstring injury sustained last weekend, will be “touch and go” for the visit of Aldershot this weekend, but left-back Alex Whittle is expected to be available. Forward Harvey Greenslade is still a way off making a return to fitness and on-loan Bristol City defender Raphael Araoye is expected to feature for his parent club’s under-23s’ side on Monday.

Aldershot come to Somerset on a run of five matches without a win having lost to early season leaders Barnet at home on Tuesday night.

But the Yeovil boss is expecting a tough contest against the side managed by former Bristol Rovers’ caretaker manager Tommy Widdrington.

Cooper said: “They were a whisker off the play-offs last year and if the National League put them up when Gateshead dropped out, they would have been in the play-offs. They have some good players, staff and manager who know what they are doing. Tommy’s team will be on the front foot and trying to get after us, they will be tactically sound and we are expecting a tough game. No-one is going to give you three points which we have done in every game except that Solihull game. If we keep playing with that attitude and enthusiasm we will be fine.“

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said his side were denied “a blatant penalty” as his side were held to a goalless draw at Sutton United tonight.

The Glovers’ boss insisted there was a handball from a defender when Ciaran McGuckin challenged for Frank Nouble’s cross to the back post with 52 minutes gone. 

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall after the game, he said: “It is another blatant penalty. I have just seen it back, the lad has his arm in the air, our players heads the ball on to his arm. I got sent off for lifting my arms above my waist (at Oldham) on Saturday, but their centre-half had his hand above his head, the ball hits his hand, it is a clear penalty. It doesn’t matter if he’s not looking at the ball, his hand should not be up there. We have not had a penalty this season, but let’s hope when these decisions do turn for us it will be like London buses and they all come at once.”

The boss praised his side’s first half performance which saw them dominate a Sutton United relegated out of League Two last season which went in to this match on the back of consecutive victories.

But, having failed to convert opportunities they carved out before the break, the home side came back in to the game and Yeovil were indebted to saves from on-loan Southampton keeper, Ollie Wright.

Cooper said: “I thought first half we were outstanding. We had two or three gilt-edged chances that we had to score, Youngy hits the goalkeeper in the face and Jarv has a chance which he should score. But when you don’t take those chance you know it is going to be more difficult in the second half because we do not have something to hold on to. I was really pleased with the performance, the boys were magnificent, we battled and ran and dominated the first half but then we had to dig in for the second half. 

“If you do not score when you are on top, you are waiting on one mistake, we had to be wary but we defended brilliantly as a unit. They changed their shape at half-time because I thought we were on top in the first half, but we gave the ball away cheaply and that gave them energy. That is what we said at half-time ‘don’t give them any energy because we are on top. That is football.”

Ollie Wright did superbly to turn a first half free-kick from Lewis Simper over the bar.

On Wright’s performance, the manager added: “He has been outstanding. He has had some stick from our fans which I do not understand. He’s a young man trying to make his way in the game, but he is going to be a top goalkeeper. He commands his goal and kicks the ball really well and it is another clean sheet for him.”

The Glovers made four changes from Saturday’s 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic with McGuckin and Jordan Young brought in to the starting XI alongside Brett McGavin and Dom Bernard, the latter replacing the injured Michael Smith who has picked up a hamstring injury.

The boss added: “I thought the boys who came in were great, I thought (Brett) McGavin was really good. We controlled the game in the first half and our midfield was dominant, our centre-halves were aggressive and our full-backs were good. We looked lively at the front of the pitch, if we had scored I think we would have gone on to win the game.”

The result means the Glovers have not scored in 362 minutes of football since Bernard’s late winner at AFC Fylde on 7th September and it was an off-night for striker Aaron Jarvis, who toiled with little effect.

Asked whether more could be done to support the summer signing from Torquay United, Cooper added: “We played two wingers and two up front, I am not sure what more support we can get to him. There were seven or eight crosses across the face of goal in the first half, he had a one-v-one which he will be frustrated he did not score. But if we keep creating those chances and putting the ball in there, as long as we stay tight at the back, we will start scoring goals and winning well.”

The manager revealed that he expected Bristol City loan defender Raphael Araoye is expected to return to training on Thursday having been missing with a dead leg he sustained in the 3-1 win at Boston United at the end of August.

Smith is a doubt for Saturday’s home match with Aldershot Town, but the Glovers are hopeful he will be back for the following match at home to Dagenham & Redbridge. He was unsure how long he winger Josh Sims, who is suffering tendonitis in his knee, will be missing and forward Harvey Greenslade is still “a few weeks away” from returning to training after suffering a shoulder injury at Boston.

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said his side will be looking to break their goal-scoring drought as they take on Sutton United tonight.

The Glovers have gone three games without a goal and the boss had made four changes from last weekend’s 1-0 defeat at Oldham Athletic for the fixture. On loan Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin and Jordan Young start in wide positions with Brett McGavin, who has three goals this season, in the middle of the pitch.

Full-back Michael Smith misses out with a hamstring injury which saw him limp off early in the second half on Saturday and is replaced by Dom Bernard, but Cooper said his side would still start with a familiar formation.

He told BBC Somerset’s Ian Randall: “We are always a 4-3-3 or a 4-3-2-1. Brett McGavin has a real goal threat and he’s in the team. We have to look at the strengths more the weaknesses. Dom Bernard comes in (for Smith) and he is a good replacement and Ciaran McGuckin and Jordan Young come in as one of the wide forwards and we want to come here and attack tonight and try and score some goals.

“We have looked organised and competent, people say we have not scored but we scored seven games in two games (against Boston United and AFC Fylde) and then we have gone on a run of not scoring. So it about trying to get that consistency and solidity as well as having a real goal threat.

“It is something we have to address, we have to make sure we do not unbalance things too much and become wide open, but still have that goal threat going forward. That is what we are trying to do tonight, we have people on the pitch that can attack the goal, so we will see what happens.”

The manager admitted he had learned the lesson of his side’s flat performance in the 1-0 midweek home defeat to Solihull Moors a fortnight ago which followed a dramatic 4-3 win at AFC Fylde 72 hours earlier.

He added: “I learnt that we had an unbelievable win at Fylde with all the emotion and euphoria of that win, but then we played the following Tuesday (in the 1-0 home defeat to Solihull Moors) and we had no energy. That is down to me and I should have made some changes. We had a get together and spoke about freshening things up and put four fresh ones in with Saturday in mind.“

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Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper said he has no concerns about his side’s home record as they prepare for their tenth game of the new season this weekend.

The Glovers have four points from their opening five National League Premier matches at Huish Park, the fourth-lowest points total in the division, but have the third-best away record in the division having got three wins and one defeat on their travels.

They head to Oldham Athletic to face a side which have also only won once in front of their home crowd this weekend looking to extend their impressive form away from home.

Speaking about the home form on Thursday, the manager said: “We have gone up a division and it is a massive jump, which we knew it would be. We thought we deserved to win against Altrincham on Saturday, it was probably our best all-round performance.

“We have had a solid start and if you add another two or three points to our total it is a really good start, so I do not want to make a big thing out of (the home form). We are not bothered where we win the points, we just want to win them. 

“It is a utopia to win home and away and we have teams that come here and know that if they do not concede in the first 20 minutes, sections of the crowd will get agitated and it becomes more difficult.”

The boss was speaking at his pre-match press conference on Thursday ahead of the announcement of the signing of young Rotherham United striker Ciaran McGuckin which came out at 6pm on the same day.

The only absentees will be injured forward Harvey Greenslade and on-loan Bristol City defender Raphael Araoye who has been missing since coming off with a dead leg in the win at Boston United three weeks ago.

Cooper said the Glovers were still waiting to get an update from Ashton Gate about the 19-year-old’s fitness and was asked if he would have to consider an alternative signing if the absence continued, he replied: “Possibly.”

Manager Mark Cooper with assistant Chris Todd. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Oldham won 3-1 away at Woking last weekend having picked up five draws and one defeat in their previous six matches and will be looking to use that victory to lift them as they look for their first victory at Boundary Park since an opening day win over newly-promoted Braintree Town.

The Latics are managed by the experienced Micky Mellon who played alongside Glovers’ boss Cooper when the pair were at Bristol City at the start of their playing careers in the the late 1980s.

The Yeovil manager said: “When the fixtures come out, you look for games like Oldham away because you know it will be a great atmosphere and a really good game of football.

“I played with Micky as a young boy at Bristol City in the 1980s, he has a great managerial career  and won promotions with Fleetwood and Tranmere. We have beaten each other in the play-offs, so there is a lot of respect there. Micky will play to win. They have a squad of players that are probably above the level and at a club like Oldham they know they have to win games of football, otherwise the crowd at not happy – similar to Yeovil.

“I think they will be grounded and they will know it is early in the season because if you put a couple of wins together and you are in the play-offs. We are only a point off the play-offs and the world is going to end in Yeovil apparently. They will be aware they have had a decent start.”

The Glovers failed to score in their last two outings, a 1-0 defeat against Solihull Moors and last weekend’s goalless draw at home to Altrincham, having netted seven times in a 3-1 win at Boston and a 4-3 success at AFC Fylde in their previous two matches.

Cooper said: “We scored seven goals in two games at Boston and Fylde and we kept the same forwards for the Solihull game and didn’t spark at all. I should have freshened the team up (against Solihull) but when you have the euphoria of winning late on at Fylde you think that momentum will carry you through and it didn’t. I should have changed something and freshened something up, so I learnt something there. The longer the forwards play together, the connections will get better.”

The boss also said that he had learned a lesson from his decision to rest a number of players for the FA Trophy tie at Torquay United with his side on a run of 14 wins in all competitions last November.

Asked whether he would consider resting players for upcoming cup competitions this season, Cooper said: “I will pick the team that will win games of football in every game I play. I learned last year that we had a terrific run of 14 games unbeaten and then we decided we needed to rest one or two for the Torquay game in the FA Trophy and we got beat. I don’t think I would do that this year, I will try and get as many people out there as I can which drives competition because people know they are not going to just get a game because you feel sorry for them. They have to earn the opportunity and when they do it get, they have to take it and I think that has to be the starting point to getting a really competitive group.”

This season, the Glovers enter the FA Cup at the fourth qualifying round stage with ties played on October 12, and the FA Trophy in the third round at the start of December.