Ahead of this weekend’s crucial National League encounter at Huish Park, Yeovil Town manager Billy Rowley has opened up about a challenging few weeks for the Glovers, tackling everything from squad fatigue and a mounting injury list to the formidable challenge posed by table-topping Boreham Wood.
Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Jack Kyllah, Rowley reflected on the physical toll of a congested fixture list following recent cup encounters.
“The lads have been feeling it in recent weeks,” Rowley admitted. “We’ve had a few really quick turnarounds. I think I draw it back to the FA Cup replay [vs Leatherhead] we kind of slipped up on and had to have a replay on a Tuesday night which obviously wasn’t planned for. And the knock-on effect of that is just a little bit of fatigue, a couple of injuries that were unexpected, and it’s set us back a tiny bit. But that’s all part of the season, isn’t it? You’re going to hit these hurdles and it’s just about adapting and the boys facing that adversity and trying to work as hard as they can for it.”
Despite the hurdles, Yeovil’s performances continue to show character. Looking back at their previous cup exploits against Chesterfield, Rowley expressed satisfaction with his side’s second-half display and fighting spirit away from home, even if the final result left them frustrated.
“To go to Chesterfield and score three goals with a, you know, a kind of, not a makeshift team at all, but we had obviously some big players missing, I think some of the bits’ performance were good,” said Rowley. “As an overall result, like I said, scoring three goals at Chesterfield, we probably would have taken that before the day. It’s just obviously frustrating to concede four and not at least go to extra time. But in hindsight, probably we didn’t need extra time, so it’s potentially a good thing as well.”
The midweek Wells game provided a welcome opportunity to hand valuable minutes to younger prospects alongside senior squad members needing a match-sharpness boost. Rowley was pleased with the application shown across the pitch.
“Some boys probably needed a top-up game-wise,” Rowley explained. “We left a lot of boys out the squad that night, but there was three or four that could do with 60 plus minutes, which was good for them. The pitch wasn’t ideal, but the game was good. It was well contested and a good chance for our young lads to get out there and experience it with the first-team boys. So, a positive night overall and no injuries.”
But, there has been some more negative injury news this week, Jos Barker will be missing for a short while after picking up an injury himself up at Chesterfield, the boss admits it’s been all hands to the pump to find a replacement.
“We heard that obviously Jos was going to be out for, we still haven’t had the scan results. That was put back from yesterday, getting that done tomorrow morning. So, we’re going to have the results probably Saturday or Sunday. But that initially was probably looking like probably a three to four week thing. So we’ve been working around the clock to, to find, a stand in goalie which I’m pretty sure like we’re 90% sorted on that and he’ll join up with us tomorrow morning on loan for initially a month.”
Elsewhere, it was confirmed that Walker’s early withdrawal from the Wells game was a precaution and he should train on Friday as normal, Joe Haigh needs another scan after a set back in training with the gaffer saying “It’s not a major, but he had a slight setback in training the other day, so we’re just going to see where that’s at.
Brett [McGavin]’s not too far away, Jordan [Norville-Williams] obviously as well… Joy [Mukena]’s still struggling with his hamstring, so nothing new sort of from that front”
Despite the disruption, Rowley remains full of praise for the collective spirit within his dressing room.
“I can’t question these lads, the group’s character at all,” he emphasised. “As much as they’ve only been together now for four months or so, I think they really feel like a tight-knit group. Even speaking to some of them before training today, three or four of them went out to a market yesterday on their day off and got some food. So it’s really pleasing to see. That’s what you want to see as a team, lads that connect on and off the pitch, and I think that’s what we’re trying to develop here.”
Attention now turns to Saturday’s heavyweight clash at Huish Park, where Yeovil welcome an unbeaten and high-flying Boreham Wood side
“Superb, superb,” Rowley said when assessing the visitors. “They’re obviously the standout team this season. They’ve got some top players, they’re really well coached, really good manager. So it’s a type of test that we want to have. We had one last Saturday, we’ve got another one this Saturday at home in the league. Everyone’s itching to get back in the league and try and fight for some points, which is what we work hard for week to week.”
“We’re under no illusion to think that this is going to be a really, really tough game,” he concluded. “Watched a fair amount of them in the past couple of days—really impressed with how they play, quite unique in some of their ideas, but really a technically gifted team. But equally, like I said, we’re at home in front of our supporters, and they like seeing us score goals and run forward. So that’s going to be the plan, you know. We’re going to try and attack the game and score some goals.”