Yeovil Town boss Mark Cooper admitted he is looking to strengthen his side up front after seeing them draw a blank at Huish Park for the first time this season.
The Glovers’ boss started with a front three of top-scorer Rhys Murphy, Frank Nouble and Jordan Young in the 0-0 draw with in-form Hampton and Richmond Borough before bringing on Alex Fisher as a second half substitute.
But, with the return of loanee Sonny Cox to his parent club Exeter City and injuries to Jake Hyde and Jordan Stevens, the manager admits he is in the market for new recruits.
Speaking to our man Ian Perkins after the match, he said: “We are looking to bring people in at the top end of the pitch. We need to move one or two out first before we do that, we have a budget to work to but we definitely need another creative player, someone who is going to chip in with a couple of goals.
“At the minute we are relying too much on Jordan Young and if he has an off day, we seem to struggle, so we are looking. We have a couple of targets, but we could do with moving a couple on.”
Picture courtesy of Gary Brown.
Nouble has a gilt-edged opportunity to open the scoring against an in-form Hampton side, who have not lost in the league since they were beaten by Yeovil at the end of September, and Cooper said that his side’s failure to finish their opportunities was all that stood between them and three points.
He said: “If we score the first goal, which we should do with the chances we had, they have to come out and it becomes a different game. But, in those big moments, your forward-thinking players have to produce and we didn’t do it today.
“We have to keep playing like we are, there’s not a lot wrong apart from we didn’t convert our controlled play in to goals. If you analysis the first half, there are so many good opportunities there that on another day we could have won by three or four. We are always going to create chances, we need to start converting them.
“There were a couple of blocks, but when you look at the really good chances we have in the first half, we have to score. I have just seen them back on the video and it was the same as last week at Dartford when we could have been five up, we should have been at least two up at half-time today. When you are not, it gives the opposition strength.”
Asked what he felt the difference was between his forward players converting the chances and missing them, Cooper added: “That is the life of a lower league footballer, sometimes it just doesn’t happen The difference between the players in the top divisions and others is that they score those every week, and that is why they get paid £100,000-a-week.
“As a coach I can get our players safely and controlled to the edge of the opposition’s box and show them patterns, but when the moment comes to kill, you can’t coach that, that is just a technique which we are missing at the moment. But as long as we keep creating chances, that is the main thing.”
As if the way this season, Mark Cooper also spoke to the club’s official YouTube channel. You can watch this video here….
Bring Olly Thomas back here on loan again? His loan spell at Newport County has ended.
I think playing Mark Cooper in the centre and moving Matt Worthington wide left was our big issue today. Cooper isn’t a creative player, Worthy does that middle role better. Will Dawes could then play wide left and we become more fluid and create more.
What was the point of bringing on will Dawes for the last 3 minutes
yesterday,should have been on much earlier!,
And can the announcer when reading out our team stop calling Jordan Young “superstar’,great player yes but so is all the rest of the team!
“We have to move one or two out” before we strengthen up front!!!! We have 4 strikers at the moment therefore it must be a coaching problem. So lets move one or two out, both named Cooper. That would get rid of any distractions!! Staunts would make a good coach, or is that what Mark Cooper was afraid of, allegedly ?