Darren Sarll is not looking at tomorrow’s FA Trophy tie with Needham Market as an opportunity to give players who have been out of his Yeovil Town squad game time – he just wants to win.
The manager has a number of players including defender/midfielder Alex Bradley and number two goalkeeper Max Evans who have had limited match minutes this season, while defender Mark Little is heading towards returning from long-term injury.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.
Despite their opponents at Huish Park being two steps below them in the football pyramid, Sarll is not expecting to make changes simply to give players game time.
However, the loss of captain Luke Wilkinson through injury and full-back Dan Moss, whose loan spell has been ended early, means the manager will have to make at least two changes from the midweek defeat at Southend United.
He also revealed winger Charlie Wakefield had not trained this week, but said midfielder Matt Worthington should be available having missed the last match through illness.
Speaking ahead of the fourth round tie, the manager said: “We need to get back to winning ways and experience winning again. It doesn’t always get easier because you are playing a (lower division) team, but we need to put out a team that gives us the best chance of winning the game.
“There might still be a couple of changes, we know (Luke) Wilkinson hobbled off the other night, Josh Staunton is always a player I always worry about not having, especially when Wilkinson is not about, and Mark Little needs to experience the game either from the start or off the bench.
“So there might be a few changes here and there, but I want to make sure I don’t go in to it and assume (any team) can win the game.”
Asked in particular about whether stand-in ‘keeper Evans would get a start having played the third round tie with Woking last month, Sarll said: “I will be considering that overnight, but this is not participation football. In an ideal world we would get those players who need game time (playing games) but we haven’t won in four and my job is to win matches.”
During the press conference on Friday, the manager also said:
- He was “95% sure” that on-loan Watford forward Sonny Blu Lo-Everton would be staying until the end of the season with his loan stay due to expire after Saturday.
The boss said he was “delighted” that defender Jack Robinson will be with the club until May after extending his stay and thanked his parent club, Middlesbrough, and Millwall, who loaned us the impressive Dan Moss.
Sarll said: “The financial outlay of his stay was next to nothing for a player like (Dan Moss), and Millwall along with Middlesbrough are the best club I have ever dealt with for young players and loans.
“Their understanding of a lack of resources and young players and been incredible.“ - The manager was full of praise for Moss whose loan stay was cut short to enable him to join League Two side Leyton Orient last week.
Sarll said: “Dan Moss was exceptional and it was a heart-breaking moment when he told me he was going to go.
“The loan move was perfect for all parties, the only bit that was missing was the extension (of his stay) with Yeovil.
“(The move) was Dan’s choice, not Millwall’s choice, it’s his choice to go and put himself in to the EFL and we can’t begrudge him that.
“He was an outstanding performer us, the most low maintenance player, a brilliant guy.” - Sarll questioned the decision to rule out a ‘goal’ from defender Max Hunt for handball in the closing stages of the defeat at Southend, saying: “(Max) was not even looking at the ball, how can that be handball?”
He also described suggestions from the Southend camp that they had put in a great performance to earn the 2-1 win as “nonsense” saying: “They weren’t great and we weren’t great.”