Charlie Cooper has said he is enjoying the competition for places in the Yeovil Town midfield this season.
The 27-year-old has been up against skipper Matt Worthington, summer signing Brett McGavin and Sonny Blu Lo-Everton in the battle for a starting place in the opening nine matches of the National League Premier season.
Having missed the opening match of the season, he has appeared in the previous eight matches and appeared in a deep-lying role in the goalless draw with Altrincham at Huish Park last weekend.
Speaking ahead of this Saturday’s trip to Oldham Athletic, he said: “Between the four of us, whoever plays you are going to have a good midfield. Each of us are good at different things, it is just a case of getting the right balance and some people are better suited for different games. It has been a good competition.”
On his role in the midfield, he added: “How I play depends on who we are playing and what sort of press we are facing, that dictates where I am on the pitch. I think first half against Altrincham they came with a press and (the way we played) killed it.
“We work on things (in training) and sometimes they work and sometimes they don’t, but that is football. I am a defensive midfielder, but I do like to get us playing as well.
“I know sometimes it looks like you are playing sideways but that is to make sure we keep possession for long periods of the game.”
The stalemate with Altrincham was met by boos from some sections of the Huish Park crowd, but Cooper called on fans to recognise the step up in quality from that they encountered in National League South last season.
Yeovil have picked up four points from a possible 15 at home, compared with nine points from a possible 12 away from home.
The midfielder said: “Last year, we won most games at home and I think that is why you see a little bit of frustration at home from the fans, but it can’t get like that after the connection we built with the fans last year.
“I know it has been frustrating and we have picked up more wins on the road, we need to stick together because (the atmosphere at Huish Park) can be a massive thing that will cause problems for other teams.”
This weekend sees Cooper return to one of his former clubs, Oldham Athletic, where he spent the first six months of the 2022-23 season, the Latics’ first since relegation out of the Football League. Having been signed by John Sheridan at the start of the campaign, Cooper saw the boss shown the door in September and replaced by David Unsworth, who endured an equally torrid time.
But, Cooper knows that the club’s fan base – they are averaging the second-highest home attendances in the division going in to the weekend – can be a negative force as well as a positive one.
He said: “Our main aim to be competitive and, if we can string a run of games together, I think we will be up there but there is a bit of pressure on Oldham.
“They get a lot of fans going there and backing them, so there will be a lot of pressure on them to be automatic promotion or in the play-offs.
“It is a massive club and it is great to play in front of when you are doing well, but when it’s not going well (the crowd) can turn. I like playing in those kind of games in front of big crowds.”