Cooper: We need to add a couple of players

Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper  said he needed to “add a couple of players” after watching them grab a late win at Chippenham Town in their third friendly of the pre-season campaign.

The Glovers needed late goals from strikers Harvey Greenslade and Aaron Jarvis to see off National League South opposition with a 3-2 win in temperatures which topped 30 degrees Celsius in Wiltshire on Saturday afternoon.

Cooper started the game with trialists striker Jevani Brown and midfielder Luke McCormick, who have both featured in the previous two friendly wins over Sherborne Town and Exmouth Town.

It is not clear whether the boss was talking about these two players as he mentioned the need for new additions, as neither of the ex-Bristol Rovers’ duo has been formally identified by the club.

Speaking to the club’s social media after the game, Cooper said: “We are still trying to add a couple of permanent players to the squad, we are still a couple short. We are trying to work with the owner (Prabhu Srinivasan) and with Stuart (Robins, the club’s Executive Chairman) to see if we can push a bit and bring a couple of quality players in because we are short on numbers. We aimed to be a small squad with enough quality, but we need to add a couple now.”

So far, Cooper has recruited striker Tahvon Campbell, winger James Daly and defender Kyle Ferguson as permanent additions, but the absence of transfer business has left supporters questioning whether the club is waiting to make the right additions and the level of budget available to support recruitment.

Both Brown and McCormick were withdrawn on the hour mark on Saturday as Cooper made ten changes with only defender Morgan Williams playing the full 90 minutes. Among the changes included trialist strikers Abu Kanu and Kieran Edworthy and midfielder Teo Kurtaran, who provided the corners which led to the goals from Greenslade and Jarvis which earned the win.

Next up, Yeovil welcome Cardiff City Under-21s to Huish Park on Tuesday night. The young Bluebirds played their first pre-season fixture on Saturday earning a 2-1 win at Cymru Premier side Barry Town United courtesy of a penalty from striker Luke Pearce.

Cooper said the first three matches of the pre-season campaign had been about building fitness, but confessed his side needed to “go up a notch” as they face Cardiff’s youngsters followed by a visit from League Two side Bristol Rovers next weekend.

He added: “We are in a position where we are two weeks in to pre-season and it was about trying to get through those two weeks being aware of the weather and the pitches and making sure that we get to this point.

“But we have to go up a level now and that is the chat I have had with the players (after the match), we have to be ready and go up a notch because we are going to be two really big clubs in Cardiff City and Bristol Rovers which will be a real acid test for us. So it is about getting a steady pre-season and making sure are ready for (the first National League match on) August 9th, but we need to go up a level now.”

Two goals in the final seven minutes of the match at Chippenham earned Yeovil their third win out of three friendlies, but they needed a winner from Jarvis which came with the final touch of the match. They had gone behind twice in the match and also saw summer signing striker Tahvon Campbell have a tame penalty saved in the second half.

Cooper admitted he was not happy with his side’s defending for either goal they conceded. He said: “We try and put a lot of bodies forward and press high, but when that ball comes forward we have to win the duels and we didn’t. we let lost those duels today and we let runners go. We had numerous chances to score, they took theirs and we missed a penalty, but we found a win to win again and that is (three wins in) three games now, you can talk about the opposition but it is three games and three wins and long may that continue.

“We are looking at minutes and data and which player needs want and trying to get some semblance of a shape to the team, and that will evolve over the next four weeks.”

There has been no sign of midfielder Jacob Maddox in the Glovers’ pre-season campaign, either in photographs from training sessions at the SGS Wise Campus in South Gloucestershire, or any of the three season friendlies.

There has been no mention of the absence from Cooper or the club’s official channels, but responding to a question from a supporter on its social media, the club confirmed the former Forest Green Rovers man underwent surgery at the end of the season.

Tell us what you think of the Glovers’ performances in their opening pre-season friendlies and where you think the squad needs to strength ahead of the opening game of the National League season in less than a month.

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