Competition for places is driving Yeovil Town’s players on to fight for their place in the starting line-up, according to star striker Rhys Murphy.
The frontman scored his ninth and tenth goal of the season in the 3-1 home win over Aveley, a result which lifted the Glovers to the top of the National League South table, before being replaced by Jake Hyde with 16 minutes remaining.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Murphy said: “There’s so many good players in the squad, we are in a really good place with competition for places. Everyone needs to be on it and whoever has got the shirt, you are confident they are going to go out and put in a performance.
“I was a bit frustrated because I could have had a couple (of goals before I scored) but the team has created so many chances today, it felt like just a matter of time.
“I knew when the next chance was going to come and it did and they weren’t pretty goals but they were in the right places.
“The Gaffer is big on positioning, so thankyou to him and to the team for getting the ball in the right positions. Long may it continue, whether it is me or whoever, it really doesn’t matter.”
With early season pace-setters Bath City and Taunton Town both dropping points, the victory lifted Yeovil to the top of the National League South table on goal difference, with second-placed Taunton have played a game more.
Murphy added: “I am more pleased to find out that we are top of the table. I thought it was a really good team performance today, first half and then it was always going to be a trickier second half, but I thought we dealt with it okay.
Another home win, the fans were brilliant and it is nice for them to go home knowing we are top of the league.
“The Gaffer said we needed to have energy and start brightly because (Aveley) had a long week and then had to travel down today, so he was really on us to start well.
“Thankfully we did, everyone was on the front foot and it just seemed to click and it is always enjoyable when it goes that way.”
Having raced in to a 3-0 half-time lead, Aveley, who remain sixth in the table even after the defeat, came out strongly in the second half and showed why they have are the division’s surprise package of the season so far.
Murphy said: “You know they were going to react (in the second half) so it is about managing the game, taking the sting out of the game, but you know you want to be scoring more goals.
“It felt like there was the potential there for more goals, but I thought we managed it well. There was a bit of space in behind which we didn’t quite exploit, we just wanted to get the game done and win and we are top of the table.
“The team is full of confidence, we are in a good moment but we know it is only a moment. It’s not a case of job done, it’s a nice little reward and evidence we are doing the right thing.
“We are not going to pat ourselves on the back, we want more and the manager’s going to demand it from himself, the staff and the players as well so we are looking forward to the next game.”
The next game sees Murphy’s former side Southend United visit Huish Park in the FA Cup fourth qualifying round next weekend.
The last time the two sides met it ended with a 2-0 victory for the Shrimpers – with Jake Hyde and Rhys Murphy on target.
Murphy said: “I hope it is a good game and I hope we can twist it round and me and Hydey are on the scoresheet for Yeovil. The main thing is whoever scores, let’s win. The most important thing is being in the first round and take that momentum in to the next game.”
You can listen to the full interview with Sheridan Robins Here: