Press Conferences (Page 5)

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.

Tell us what you thought of the Glovers’ performance by leaving your comments below.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

On-loan Yeovil Town players Dylan Morgan and Jordan Thomas are using their spells away from Huish Park to recover from injuries, manager Mark Cooper has confirmed.

Morgan, who started the Glovers’ opening league fixture, joined National League South side Weston-super-Mare for three months at the end of August whilst defender Thomas, a summer signing from Hampton & Richmond, joined Salisbury on a one-month deal at the start of September.

Speaking on Thursday ahead of the weekend’s trip to Oldham Athletic, the boss was asked by reporter Tom Bailey whether he would consider bringing players back to bolsyer his first team squad.

Cooper said: “That is something we will look at if we get to that point, if we are that short of bodies we need to bring people back. You have to weigh up is it better for Dyl to be there playing every week, scoring goals than coming off the bench for us and playing 20 minutes.

The injury rocked Dyl in pre-season and he is in a good place at the moment, the same with Jordan Thomas who picked up an injury and missed three weeks (of pre-season training) and he was behind the group.

So when we have enough bodies in we will try and send certain players out on loan that we are trying to top up their minutes and get them up to full speed.

Out-of-favour goalkeeper Will Buse joined National League South strugglers W*ymouth last week and Under-18s’ defender Corey Koerner has been turning out for Plymouth Parkway, although he is on dual registration terms which meant he was able to link up with Yeovil’s first-team squad for the recent win at AFC Fylde.

Manager Mark Cooper praised the work-rate of his Yeovil Town team as they were held to a goalless draw at home to Altrincham this afternoon.

The hosts came closest to breaking the deadlock at Huish Park when full-back Michael Smith saw his chip come back off the underside of the crossbar in the second half, but it was a fourth blank in front of goal for the Glovers.

Following a disappointing performance in the 1-0 defeat against Solihull Moors four days earlier where Cooper questioned the commitment of his players, the boss was far happier with their endeavour against Altrincham.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Chris Spittles after the game, the boss said: “I thought we looked solid, aggressive, I think that is the best all-round performance we have given this season. I asked for a performance and I thought first half we were really good, we controlled large parts of the game and picked the right times to play forward. The only bit that was missing was a little bit of quality when we got one-v-one in the wide areas to create that chance on goal.

As a team we defended really well, but that output and effort has to be a minimum for us. If we had played like that against Solihull the other night we would have won the game. It is pretty sobering for the boys, they can see that if they do give everything, we can more than match an Altrincham side which was in the play-offs in this division last season.

The work-rate, the effort was just incredible, the boys covered 13-14k today and that has to be the minimum for us and if we can do that every game we will be a match for a lot of teams.

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton. {Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton was handed his first start of the new season and came close to opening the scoring early in the first half when he warmed the palms of visiting keeper Ethan Ross, and Cooper was pleased with the mobility of his midfield.

He said: “We set up a little differently with three midfield players. We wanted mobility in the middle of the pitch and we one a lot of those one-v-one duels.

We wanted energy and mobility today, we knew it was going to be a running game today and the midfield players all brought that. It is important we have that in them midfield.

The players have given everything, covered a lot of distance, won a few duels and looked really solid and that is a start for us. We have lost four, won three and drawn one now and that is a really good clean sheet for us and we just have to add that bit of quality now. I thought we played forward well at times and picked the right times to break forward.

A fantastic run and chip from Smith with 76 minutes gone was the closest either side came to breaking the deadlock and Cooper was full of praise for the Northern Irishman who he described as “a fantastic professional.”

He revealed the full-back, who turned 36 earlier this month, had been suffering with dizziness at half-time which eventually led to him being substituted with a minute of normal time remaining.

The manager said: “He was a bit dizzy at half-time but he wanted to stay on and I think that run and shot finished him off! It was just a shame it did not drop under the crossbar, that would have given us a deserved three points.

Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper is hoping three changes to his starting XI will freshen up his side to turn in a performance following the disappointment in midweek against Solihull Moors.

The boss has brought defender Morgan Williams and midfielders Sonny Blu Lo-Everton and Josh Sims back in to the line-up for the visit of Altrincham to Huish Park, with Dom Bernard, Brett McGavin and Frank Nouble dropping to the bench.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Chris Spittles ahead of kick-off, he said: “We played a really tough, emotional, dramatic game last Saturday (in a 4-3 win at AFC Fylde) and then we were flat on Tuesday night (against Solihull Moors), so we are just trying to freshen it up.

Frank has played 100-odd minutes in both of those games, so he will need to be ready for 25-30 minutes today, the same with Brett. We have five outfield players there and there is an opportunity to change it.

Glovers’ goalkeeping coach Matt Gould, who is named on the substitutes’ bench at Huish Park, faces his old employers for the first time since swapping Greater Manchester for South Somerset in the summer.

Asked whether he had brought any inside knowledge of the opposition, Cooper added: “He knows how they play and what they might do, but we have to concentrate on us and what we do. If we play like we did the other night, we would not beat a team in a local park! So we have to be on the front foot, we need to turn in a performance today.

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has challenged his Yeovil Town players to show their desire to win when they face Altrincham in front of a home crowd this weekend.

The Glovers suffered their third 1-0 home defeat in the National League Premier Division when they went down by that scoreline against Solihull Moors on Tuesday night, having grabbed a dramatic 4-3 victory at AFC Fylde just three days earlier.

Speaking on Thursday, the boss said: “I can put up with mistakes, but we have to have the commitment and desire to win a game of football and sometimes those things are enough to get you a point or three.

It was too much ‘after the Lord Mayor’s Show’ on Tuesday after the euphoria of winning fantastically with a brilliant performance at Fylde. The message before the game was ‘whichever team turns up with the best attitude and commitment will win, it won’t be about tactics or ability, it comes down to desire and they had more than us.

That’s the really frustrating thing and that is what has frustrated us the most, they just did not turn up – let’s hope it was a one-off.

Following the midweek defeat, Cooper questioned his forward players saying they could have stayed out on the Huish Park until the following day and still not found the net.

Aaron Jarvis. Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Frontman Aaron Jarvis, who netted his second of the season in the win at Fylde last weekend, was joined by Frank Nouble and Sam Pearson against Solihull.

Cooper said: “We scored seven goals in two games before that, so I don’t think it is anything we are not doing in training. It comes down to personal pride. Our forward players were incredible on Saturday (at Fylde) but on Tuesday night they were just not at it. It is really hard as a side if your front players do not spark, it is really hard to get up the pitch.

Asked whether he was still looking to bolster his squad, he added: “That team was good enough to win at Fylde and Boston, but you cannot carry players. In any game of football you have to have seven or eight players who are at it and if you have just two or three you will get beaten.

We have enough players to field a team, we are still looking, we have some money to still bring players in but we want to bring the right ones in. I have said before I can go and sign 100 players on loan, but I want to try and get the right type.

Central defender Morgan Williams returned on the bench against Solihull having missed the away wins at Boston United and AFC Fylde with concussion. He replaced new signing Dom Bernard, whose slip led to Connor Wilkinson’s first-half goal, on Tuesday night.

Cooper said: “Morgs has had a couple of days training. Tuesday was probably a bit too early for him, and we are trying to look after him. But he is back and he looked really good today in training.

Morgan Williams. Picture courtesy of Gary Brown

On-loan Bristol City defender Raphael Araoye has had a second scan on a dead leg suffered at Boston, but the Glovers are still waiting to hear back from his parent club about the severity of the injury. However, Cooper confirmed that he expects Harvey Greenslade to be out for “another three to four weeks.

Araoye we are still waiting to get a definitive answer on his second scan and how long he is going to be.
Harvey we think will be another three to four weeks. That is football, you are going to get injuries, we just have to deal with it.