Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has said his side will not be distracted by off-the-field noise which has put Huish Park in the headlines in recent days.
In the past 24 hours, the club has made national media headlines for banning supporters from home matches for “negative comments and remarks” regarding the club and chairman Martin Hellier, who has subsequently said he intends to sell the club “as soon as suitable buyer can be found” – read more on that here.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead of today’s match with AFC Fylde, Cooper said: “I don’t do social media so I don’t really get to see it, obviously you hear little bits and pieces, but I am here to run the football bit and that is up to other people.
“When I came here it was <NAME REDACTED> and then it was Matt Uggla and Martin has come in and we have had a bit of success. I just try and concentrate on what is going to happen out (on the pitch) today.”
On the pitch, Yeovil named an unchanged starting XI from the side which won 3-0 at Solihull Moors seven days ago with new signing midfielder Harry Kite coming in on the substitutes’ bench alongside defender Michael Smith, who returns after suffering a hamstring injury in the 5-0 defeat at Barnet earlier this month.
Cooper said: “It makes sense (to name an unchanged starting XI). We love to have a settled team but that has been difficult with the circumstances and we will see how they go today.”
On Kite, he added: “He is a solid player who knows the game, he is a ball-winning midfield player and he can run about and he is above the level, so he is perfect for us.
“Brett (McGavin) is more of a quarter-back, whereas Harry is more front foot, mobile and gets around the pitch and wins the ball back, so they are totally different players.”
AFC Fylde sit third-from-bottom of the National League Premier Division table, a point from safety, but picked up an impressive 3-0 win of their own last weekend. The Lancashire side triumphed over high-flying Forest Green Rovers on home soil.
Cooper added: “Everyone beats everyone at this stage of the season. Teams are picking up points and we have to be the same, we have to keep the scoreboard ticking and we are expecting a really tough game.
“I would settle for 1-0, but we just have to try and replicate the energy, mobility and front foot nature of the way we played (at Solihull).”
We’ve needed a ball-winning midfielder since Mark Cooper first took over.