Yeovil Town manager boss Billy Rowley has said that he is learning more and more about his side with each passing training session and match as his new group of players prepare for the first home game of the season.
Speaking to Josh Perkins of BBC Radio Somerset, he said that he’s excited to see what the ‘best version’ of this side looks like as they prepare for the visit of title favourites Carlisle United to Huish Park on Saturday.
He was asked about his feeling about 1-1 draw at Scunthorpe United on the opening day of the campaign last weekend and what he learned from seeing his side in competitive action.
Rowley said: “[The result was] so frustrating. I was obviously planning training last night and re-watching that game again, along with some Carlisle stuff, and I’ve seen two or three movements where we’ve got one-on-one with the goalie that at least two of them should (not have been flagged offside), and we should probably score another goal.
“I said on Saturday, if you go 2-0 with 30 minutes to go, I feel that leaves us in a really good place to win the game. We very much hope these things are swings and roundabouts, and hope that they all level out across the season, but… I don’t know, we’ll see.
“I think you can learn a lot. I learn every day in training, so I had to join in there for 20 minutes, but you learn about, you know, players who can talk and organise defensively, you learn about players who want to run in behind more than others. So, I’m learning every day when I watch the game back, when I’m watching opposition, when I’m watching us play Scunthorpe late on in the game.”
The manager has said a few times during the pre-season campaign – including on the Gloverscast Episode #514 – that the team will need time to produce their best football, he said it’s reasonable to expect to see things improve for a few months yet.
He said: “I would say probably around November time, you’ll probably see like the best version of us. That’s not to say that we’re not going to play well and win games until November, but I think back to my last club (Walton & Hersham), we were sort of in and around sixth or seventh place around Christmas time, and then we went on a four-month crazy winning streak. It took us that long to figure out balances in the team, who likes to play against certain opposition, who handles certain occasions, and then just learning how we play, learning new patterns and new shapes. So I think October-November time you’ll start to see a really good version of us here.”
This weekend’s opponents, Carlisle United, made a losing start to the new National League Premier Division season as they were beaten 3-2 at home to Worthing, but Rowley is wary the Cumbrians could be a wounded animal ready to bite back.
He said: “We’re expecting a very good team. Rob [Eliot] is a top manager and I know how he plays, how he wants to play, he’s got some superb ideas, and their players are technically gifted.
“All it takes is us to switch off at one moment, or get a press wrong and they can get the other side of you. I can expect them to be one of the top teams in this league. I’d have them in the like top five or top three this season, so I expect a very difficult game. I’ve re-watched all of their game against Worthing and, on another day, they probably could have been two or three up, so, we’re not going to look into that result too much and they’ll obviously have a point to prove..”
Rowley revealed on loan Salford City defender Loick Ayina suffered a knee injury which meant he was not in the squad at Scunthorpe last weekend.
Looking ahead, he wouldn’t be drawn on a potential finishing position for the Glovers, but Rowley said he was ‘quietly confident’ about a positive campaign, especially with a couple of players to come back into the fold properly.
He said: “We’re quietly confident. This is such a boring answer to this, but we literally have to take every week as it comes. We’ve got to keep improving. We’ve still got Joe Haigh, who’s sat on the sideline for another four weeks, so there’s players that are not available at the moment that will make us stronger when they come back. We’ll just take each week as it comes.
“Joe’s obviously a massive part of how we’re going to play this year, so we’re not at full strength yet, and we’re not fully learning what we’re trying to imprint here. It’s going to be a bit of a process, this, but I’m sure the supporters will see us improve most weeks. It should be a really interesting and fun journey for us.
“I always say this, but I love going to Huish for matchday, especially at the moment, the pitch is incredible. Fans feel like they’re really buzzing to be back and watch this new team play. It’s our job now to turn up and put on a good performance and all stick together and deliver.”