Cooper: The players need support

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper spoke to BBC Somerset’s Jack Killah ahead National League action against York City on Saturday. Here’s every word of the manager’s press conference.

JK: Mark, it’s been a while since you and I have had a sit down. A lot’s happened in the last 10 days or so. First of all, just reflecting on Tuesday night, what do you feel you learned about your team from from the defeat on Tuesday?

MC: I didn’t really learn anything that I didn’t know. I think anybody can see the team is hugely different to the team that we had when we were having our really good spell. But that’s football. We’ve ended up with some really young players in the team that are trying to make their way in the game, and they need support. You know, it’s a really difficult environment for them to come into, and they need support now. They need support from us. They need support from everybody. And, so I didn’t really learn anything I didn’t know.

JK: Was it quite a tricky conversation to have with the players afterwards? Was much said at all?

MC: No, they just need support. It’s clear as to the situation. And this is what happens. You get into a situation where you lose a whole load of players, and you try and put a new group together, and it takes a little bit of time, but and they need support.

JK: As I touched upon a moment ago, the last few days, a lot with regards to players as well, in terms of incomings, outgoings, start off with an update on Frank. Obviously, got the news before the last game that the plan was for him to go to Gateshead. That then fell through. How did that all come about? And what’s the latest on that situation now?

MC: It came about like I spoke about last weekend, Frank spoke to me and said, ‘Look, I’ve had an offer from Gateshead I want to go’, which I completely understand, because it’s securing his family, and a better deal than we could probably offer. And then I asked him if he could play at the weekend, which he did. And then Sunday, Monday, we tried to contact Gateshead as of Frank’s wishes to get the deal done, but we didn’t get any response.  As I mentioned, what’s happened in the end, is a person that’s trying to buy Gateshead has agreed a deal with Frank, but these people don’t yet own Gateshead and Gateshead can’t push the deal through with Frank, in case the deal doesn’t go through to take the club over. So it’s a mess, really. And I think when agents, or supposedly agents, get involved, it can become a mess. And the person that has been left is Frank.

JK: Will Frank be available for this Saturday. Is he involved with the squad? At the moment,

MC: I haven’t seen Frank yet, like I haven’t. I’m hoping that he’s in today. But, you know, it’s that’s that remains to be seen.

JK: We’ve touched on before, the amount of players that have gone out of the door, whether that buy it, be by it or out injured. At the moment, I think it’s eight in total. In the last few weeks, you had four come in. How happy Have you been with with the incomings this month, and they’re settling into the squad?

MC: Well, whenever you, and as a necessity you bring players in, it’s going to take a while for them to bed in. Now, people, of course, are going to say, why did you sign this player? Why did you sign that player? Why did you let this player go? Why did you let that player go? Sometimes we have to take into account the player in talking about their wishes. We can’t do anything about the injuries, but it’s just a moment in time. If you take Tottenham, for an example, looks as though they’re gonna have a really good season. They lost the core of their team straight through the middle. At our level it’s difficult to replace that. That isn’t an excuse. That’s just fact. So we have to then react by bringing bodies in. And you have to be honest that we’re not at the top of the food chain when it comes to recruiting players. So these players that we bring in are going to need a little bit of time. We’re hoping that at some point we get Wannell, Williams, Jarvis, Smith, Maddox, we get those kind of players back into the group.

JK: Are any of those players? I mean Jacob Maddox when we spoke previously, we’re hoping the short term injury. Are any of them any closer to being involved in first team action?

MC: I think the first one back will be probably maybe Michael Smith. There maybe Wannell, then maybe maybe Williams and Jarvis in that order.

JK: And we’re still talking weeks away in all those cases as well?

MC: They won’t be available for Saturday.

JK: With regards to York this season, obviously, having a very, very good season on the football side of it. What have you made of them and how difficult will they be on Saturday?

MC: Yeah, good football team. They’ve got good players. They’ve recruited heavily, and they’ve got money to burn, but they’ve recruited good players. The manager there, I think the recruitment that he’s done has been really good and tough team to play against. They’ll be disappointed that Barnet have got so far ahead of them, but they’ll want to cement their place in the top three to make sure if they are in the playoffs, they get a home tie.

JK: For some Yeovil fans, and I’d imagine other people involved in the game, there’ll be a bit of added spice, given that the former relationship between the now owner of York and Yeovil Town. Does that play into any anybody’s mind? Does that make any difference to what was going to happen on Saturday?

MC: Certainly not for me, it’s, I don’t have to explain that everyone knows what went on and listen people, people mature, people grow up. It is what it is. Seems to be the nature of football. 

JK: And I know from our conversations over the course season, you’re always looking at individuals to bring into the club. We’re now chatting on Thursday. Are you optimistic there may be another name through the door before, before play begins on Saturday?

MC: Yeah, ideally, we’d like to sign a couple of experienced players to help the group, because, like I said, it’s difficult to replace the boys that we’ve lost. And that’s not to say that the players we’ve brought in are just makeweights in their own rights. They’re really good players, they’re finding the way in the game, and if you put yourself in a young player’s position coming into the other night, and the atmosphere and the negativity, it’s a really difficult place. Now, of course, we’d love to bring in two experienced players wit physicality that can help us, but that’s a tough, tough job to get those kind of players at this stage of the season to come to Yeovil at the moment. All I’d say is the players need support. That’s all we’re going to be focusing on is, is supporting the players. 

JK: You talked about pressure on the players and supporting them. What about yourself? Do you feel the pressure at any times? How do you deal with pressure yourself?

MC: Of course, you feel, as a man, as a proud person, you feel pressure, and you don’t want to let people down, certainly the players. You just have to keep going. If you’d have said to us at the start of the season, if we could finish the top half, or near the top half or mid table, I think we’d have took that.  Now we have to make sure that we do that, finish that off, and we put things in place next year, loads of things in place, and the infrastructure that make things better.