Darren Sarll (Page 6)

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Matt Worthington drives forward.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

There’s a double reason to celebrate at Huish Park this week with both Matt Worthington and Darren Sarll picking up awards and recognition.

Midfielder, Worthington has been singled out for praise by his manager on more than one recent occasion and it seems others are starting to notice.

The former Bournemouth man made both the Non-League paper and the official Vanarama Team of the Day for his part in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Barnet.

As for the gaffer, he’s been rewarded as the National League’s Manager of the Month for guiding his side through three incredible away wins at Dagenham, Bromley and Wrexham and remaining unbeaten through FA Cup and Somerset Premier Cup ties too.

The official press release stated;
“Yeovil Town weren’t slow to start brewing this season but their cup ran cold just a few days into September.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Darren Sarll never allowed some sticky results to distract from the bigger picture – and his team really started to get going again last month.

They begun November with a 5-0 FA Cup romp at Yate Town before points were earned with wins over Eastleigh, Dagenham, Bromley and Wrexham.

They may not have been able to polish off winless Dover Athletic but the Glovers fans and the Manager of the Month have their eyes firmly fixed on the top seven now.”

As an aside, we here at the Gloverscast can only find THREE FIVE* occasions where the Yeovil manager has been rewarded with the monthly gong since the start of the EFL era. If anyone knows of any awards prior to 2003 or if I’ve missed one, please get in touch – ben@gloverscast.co.uk

● GARY JOHNSON – LEAGUE TWO – SEPTEMBER 2003

● GARY JOHNSON – LEAGUE TWO – SEPTEMBER 2004

● GARY JOHNSON – LEAGUE TWO – DECEMBER 2004

● DARREN SARLL – NATIONAL LEAGUE – SEPTEMBER 2019

● DARREN SARLL – NATIONAL LEAGUE – NOVEMBER 2021

A huge congratulations to both for their well deserved recognition!!

*EDITORS NOTE, 
Originally, I only found three other examples of Yeovil Managers winning Manager of the month since 2003, but, Ciderspace OG, Huish Hugh spotted a gap in the Wikipedia history (imagine!) on the subject and pointed out two more Gary Johnson awards that probably lay atop his mantlepiece.

Happy to stand corrected. 

 

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Darren Sarll showed his Yeovil Town players a video nasty to ensure a fast start in the 1-0 win over Barnet at Huish Park on Saturday.

The Glovers’ boss said ahead of the game he showed his side the opening of the 1-1 draw at home to bottom-of-the-table Dover Athletic a fortnight ago.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

In that match, a goal from TJ Bramble saw the visitors take the lead after just two minutes.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins, the manager described the start against Barnet, capped by a ninth-minute goal from striker Adi Yussuf, as the best he has seen in his time at the club.

He said: “I played them (a video) of the Dover start yesterday to make the point that this is how bad it can look, let’s make sure we start on the right foot.

“I also spoke to them heavily about motivation after the FA Cup game because when the telly is here and you are playing an EFL side players organically motivate themselves, it’s when it’s a drab December evening with no cameras here that teams can struggle.

“So we spoke about that at length (on Friday) and Terry (Skiverton, assistant manager) came in after the warm-up and said ‘they are ready to go now’.

“He was right because that was the best start we have had to a game in my three years here definitely.

As you would expect from a team which has gone 11 matches unbeaten, the manager was full of praise for his side who have kept eight clean sheets in that run.

Josh Staunton.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Sarll picked out his entire defence for praise and described a late block by midfielder Josh Staunton as “almost like scoring a goal” and the effort of Matt Worthington as “spectacular.”

He added: “We are very much enjoying the run and we know we have to work hard to keep going.”

Worthington added that fast starts were part of the game plan Yeovil had adopted this season.

He told BBC Somerset: “We go out and try and get our tempo in the first 15 minutes, get that first goal and our legs and our power takes over from there.

“It is a brilliant run we are on and the lads are really buying in to what we are trying to do and how we are trying to play.”

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Darren Sarll has said his focus is on preparing his Yeovil Town team for this weekend’s home match with Barnet – despite takeover talks off the pitch at Huish Park.

Last Sunday, Chairman Scott Priestnall issued a statement when he gave two groups he was negotiating with to buy the club seven days to complete a deal with one group, led by former Cardiff City commercial director Julian Jenkins, confirming that it was in talks to buy the club.

Darren Sarll
Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz,.

Asked about the situation ahead of the weekend’s match, Sarll said: “If you want stability and clarity, don’t work in football! I have never had it in 21 years.

“I only ever concentrate on things I can affect, I don’t concentrate on the things I can’t control.

“The things I can affect are what we do in training every day, trying to send players out in the best shape mentally and physically down the tunnel.

“We are punching so far above our weight and we are just trying to keep it going on Saturday.”

He said he had not spoken with the players about the statement, adding: “The owner of the business will do what he thinks is right for him and his business.

“Scott (Priestnall, club chairman) is the boss and he will make decisions and act accordingly, I am the manager of the team and I will act accordingly.”

The manager also spoke about whether he felt he had been supported with investment in the squad admitting he was “short of players” but saying he was happy with his side’s form going in to the weekend.

Yeovil were able to name five players on the substitutes’ bench for last weekend’s FA Cup second round win over Stevenage, including back-up goalkeeper Max Evans and youth team midfielder Ollie Haste.

In the previous fixture, the 2-0 win away at Wrexham ten days ago, they were only able to name four replacements.

Sarll said: “From a footballing point of view we are in a good places, players are enjoying their time with us and it’s a nice moment when players are improving at the same time.

“Look at (central defender Max) Hunt, (on-loan Watford forward) Sonny (Blu Lo-Everton), (on-loan Millwall full-back) Dan Moss, (winger-turned-striker Charlie) Wakefield and (midfielder) Matthew (Worthington) are improving on our watch which is a nice thing to be able to say as a coach.

“We could do with a couple of extra players to allow us to work on more in training, but on the pitch it is going grand.

“I might be moaning in a couple of weeks, but at the moment we are enjoying the work we are doing.”

 

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A tactical change to push Sonny Blu Lo-Everton further forward helped Yeovil Town find a breakthrough in their 1-0 FA Cup win over Stevenage, according to manager Darren Sarll.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The on-loan Watford forward played in a deeper position in the first half but was moved up alongside Adi Yussuf after the break and within six minutes the pair combined to set up the winner for Charlie Wakefield.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Sarll said: “We found it very hard to break that midfield line that they set up (in the first half) and Sonny was starved, so I thought we would free him up.

“I thought the two forwards would disrupt their back four and Adi (Yussuf) does a fabulous job of disrupting back fours.

“So the shape and the tactical changes did work and they have been working for a while now, it was a good performance but when people put that kind of energy and desire in to a performance you have a chance.”

The manager also had praise for his defence who have now conceded just three goals in their last ten games, keeping six clean sheets in the process.

Of goalkeeper Grant Smith who pulled off a fine save to deny Stevenage striker Jamie Reid shortly after the opener, Sarll said: “There’s just a calmness about Grant which allows those young ones in front of him to be reassured that he is there and that is a big plus for us to have that goalkeeper and that back four.”

  • Asked who he would like to face in the third round draw, Sarll was non-committal, saying: “I just want to enjoy my Sunday knowing we are still in a fabulous competition and I have a group of players that are willing to do whatever it takes for the football club.“
  • The manager revealed that Jordan Barnett has been ill for “the past couple of days” and has returned home to South Yorkshire to recover.
    Sarll added: “Hopefully he can rejoin us next week, but it was a big game he missed today and he was not a happy bunny.“

 

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Darren Sarll wants to write another chapter in the Yeovil Town‘s FA Cup history books when he takes on his old club Stevenage in front of the television cameras on Saturday.

Sarll and Skiverton
Terry Skiverton, right, alongside Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The Glovers’ boss said he has been looking forward to to facing his old club since the draw was made and admitted he would love to have some Cup memories to share having heard his assistant, club legend Terry Skiverton, talk about his so much!

Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Sarll said: “I want to create history so people stop asking me about the history! Terry has been here and seen all those big games, he still talks about marking (Liverpool striker Emile) Heskey, (Jose) Mourinho coming here with Man United.

“They’re all wonderful memories and the reason he talks about them is because they are good memories for him.

“We would like to create our own and that’s what we are in it for because no-one becomes a millionaire being here, it’s for the memories and attachments you can make for people, supporters and players.”

In team news ahead of the weekend, the manager gave the following updates:

  • Midfielder Tom Knowles “should be available” for selection if he can pass the latest stage of testing after being wrestling slammed to the ground by Dover Athletic defender Danny Collinge in last weekend’s 1-1 draw.
    The manager said that he had been “going through protocols” with the Huish Park doctor, Chris Minton, and had not trained all week and missed the midweek win at Wrexham.
  • A decision will be made today (Friday) on whether striker Reuben Reid is available for the second round tie saying the former Cheltenham Town and Plymouth Argyle man was “very close” to being available.
    The manager said: “If we can get through today training, we have discussion this afternoon whether he feels he’s in a good enough place to contribute.
    “If he’s not, we will leave it one week, if he is, you will definitely see him on the team-sheet tomorrow.“
  • Defender Mark Little was expected to have his first running session on Friday.
    Both  the former Bristol City full-back and Middlesbrough loanee defender Jack Robinson were targeting a return for the Boxing Day match at Torquay United.
    Sarll said: “Hopefully next week we will have him kicking a ball again and then he’s maybe a couple of weeks from joining training.
    “Mark always had Boxing Day in mind to be back in the squad, we hope it’s earlier, and the same for Jack who should be back for that Christmas period.“
  • The absence of midfielder Mitch Rose was “not about injury, but about resources.” Sarll added: “I would love for him to be with us tomorrow, he’s a brilliant player, but he’s not available.“

 

 

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Talks are ongoing with the parent clubs of Yeovil Town on-loan defenders Dan Moss, Jack Robinson and forward Sonny Blu Lo-Everton.

Sonny Blu Lo-Everton, Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

All three players are due to return to their parent clubs Millwall, Middlesbrough and Watford respectively in January, but manager Darren Sarll said he is keen for them to remain.

He said: “We are constantly in dialogue with Millwall over (Dan) Moss, he would like to stay but that will be dependent on their availability.

“We are quite far down the road with (Jack) Robinson at Middlesbrough who would like him to say.

“(Sonny’s stay from) Watford is a different one because it is Premier League and we can really only do anything once January 1 hits – but we would really love Sonny to be with us.”

Lo-Everton signed on loan in the summer “until January“, Robinson joined until January 10 and Moss’ loan was recently extended until the end of January.

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll has said he would love to be the club’s manager next season – but admits he does not know where his future lies.

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

The Glovers’ boss, who has guided the club to tenth place in the National League table in the first four months, said the ongoing talks about the ownership of the club meant he could not be sure about the future of either himself or his players.

Only striker Joe Quigley and defender Morgan Williams are under contract beyond the end of the current campaign.

Asked about his future by Gloverscast inquistor Ben Barrett in his press conference ahead of the FA Cup tie with Stevenage at the weekend, the manager said: “I don’t know who’s the manager next year. Of course (I would like to be the manager), my family are here, I have got a lovely life, my daughter was born in Somerset.

“I love working with Terry (Skiverton, assistant manager), it’s a brilliant club with unbelievable support, but that is not how football works.

“I do not slap a beating heart on the table and say ‘I love the place’ and they say ‘okay Darren, have another job’, it doesn’t work like that.”

Sarll referred to “rumours” circling the club with takeover talks understood to involve at least two parties, believed to be led by current club director Glenn Collis and Julian Jenkins, an ex-Cardiff commercial director and CEO at Swiss side Servette – see here for more on that.

The manager said: “We all know about rumours of this, that and the other in the background, who knows about that? Is there more money? Less money? Who knows?

“Until the hierarchy is set in stone and this is the board of directors, the manager and what players do you want, nothing is set in stone until then, so we’ll all just have to wait and see.”

Asked if he would like to continue to work with his current squad, the boss was unequivocal in his admiration, adding: “I love working with this group, they have brought me back to life this group of players, I am in a great place now, as is Terry.

“We will never rid ourselves of the tragic events (of last season) but they have defibrillated us to be fresh and creative again.“

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll admitted he was nervous about putting out a reconfigured defence in the 2-0 win at big-spending Wrexham on Tuesday night.

The Glovers’ boss took out club captain Luke Wilkinson due to illness and replaced him with stand-in skipper Josh Staunton and brought centre half Morgan Williams for only his second league start – at left-back!

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz.

Speaking with BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the match in North Wales, he said the addition of Williams in place of Jordan Barnett, who played further forward, was to deal with the dangerous long throws of former Glovers midfielder Ben Tozer.

Sarll said: “I was a little worried about how it would look playing Jordan  in midfield and and a centre half at left back (in Williams).

“I thought can that be explained and maybe excused if it doesn’t go right?

“I thought with the ball coming (from Tozer’s long throws) to the back post, Morgan would deal with it better than Jordan, but I thought Jordan would collect the ball far higher up the pitch

“And I didn’t want two young ones at the back, I wanted Staunton’s voice, and we got away without playing Wilkinson.

“I said to Terry (Skiverton, assistant manager) ‘we got away with that one’ and he said ‘we haven’t got away with anything, we’ve been very good’ and he was quite right.”

Of Wilkinson, the boss added: “He was a little bit poorly and under the weather last night and normally when these things happen with Luke, that is when he normally breaks and I didn’t want to do that with such an important game coming up on Saturday.

The other change saw Sonny Blu Lo-Everton come in as part of the visitors’ front three in place on Tom Knowles, who dropped out having been dazed by being slammed to the floor by Dover’s Danny Collinge in a 1-1 draw at the weekend.

The Watford loanee got the second with seven minutes to go and was praised by his manager.

He said: “(Sonny) only came out of the side because he got his injury (in the 2-0 defeat) at Grimsby and then we’ve gone on this run, so he’s had to wait which is what you have to do as a young footballer.

“He has great character, very low maintenance and he has good quality, my only criticism of him at the moment would have been his return with goals.

“But, in that moment, he’s got the slowest brain on the pitch – I don’t mean ‘thick’, I mean calmness and composure – and that is why he looks so graceful and balanced all the time.

“He took it very well, but we had two misses before that so it was good technique from Sonny.”

The win moves Yeovil up to tenth in the National League table, two points off the play-off places and 14 away from the relegation zone, and means they have taken 17 points from the last possible 21.

Sarll again praised the character of his side saying: “October was not a particularly great month for us, but (these players) are great.

“They know what we are doing with them, we know their characters and the uniqueness of the team is that they are willing to sacrifice for everyone and the management team are willing to sacrifice for them.

“When you get that nice dynamic, it can be a powerful tool to use, but we are what we are and we’ve got what we’ve got (in terms of players) and they are all performing at their optimum and they should be very proud of themselves.

“There’s no quality better than being a trier and they are certainly doing that.”

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Darren Sarll said his Yeovil Town  side “got what we deserved” from a 1-1 draw against National League bottom club Dover Athletic at Huish Park on Saturday.

The Glovers went behind after a defensive blunder gifted TJ Bramble an opening goal after two minutes in a game affected the after-effects of Storm Arwen.

Adi Yussuf rescued a point when he touched in a Jordan Barnett free-kick after 77 minutes, but the manager said three points would have “papered over the cracks.”

Darren Sarll
Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll.
Picture courtesy of Mike Kunz,.

Speaking to BBC Somerset’s Sheridan Robins after the game, Sarll described the first half performance as “like we were in pre-season, absolute cack.”

He said: “We probably got what we deserved today. Everyone will see Dover in last place and us as a form team and the expectation is a win, but I don’t think our team is built to have the ball.

“We are built to run, chase and compete and it was like role reversal today and we struggled horrendously with that in the first half.”

He singled out his team’s senior players for criticism, in particular Josh Staunton and goalkeeper Grant Smith for their role in the visitors’ early goal.

He said: “Josh  has to do better there, he has taken a brilliant amount of credit (for his performances this season) which he deserves and he now needs to take responsibility, and Grant as well.”

Having started with a familiar 4-3-3 formation, the manager switched formation twice in the second half as his side searched for an equaliser.

Initially he reverted to a diamond before switching to three at the back in the closing 15 minutes.

Sarll said: “That is the first time this year we have played three shapes and I said to them at half-time I would keep changing it until I found an attitude I was happy with. I was happy with the attitude in the second half.”

He added: “We adjusted everyone’s attitude at half-time, not in an aggressive or destructive way, we just called them out and they were much better half.”

The point moves Yeovil up to 11th place, extends the unbeaten run to eight first-team matches including the Somerset Premier Cup win at Larkhall Athletic, and means they have collected seven points in the past three matches.

The manager concluded: “We will learn from it and know how to deal with it next time, but we did not get beaten.

“We have probably overachieved this week, definitely this month and so we should not be too disappointed.”

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Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll talks to BBC Radio Somerset

Yeovil Town manager Darren Sarll, spoke to the media ahead of the Glovers’ home game vs Dover and talked of the ‘respect’ he has for his opposite number, and that despite the difference in form, Yeovil wont be caught lacking.

“No ,these won’t be complacent, my group won’t be complacent, we know exactly where we are and what we have to do, we know exactly what we’re good at and what we need to get better at… we need to ensure we prepare as we have done all the time, with diligence, with professionalism, with respect”

 

Dover are currently winless in the league this season and crashed out of the FA Cup to Yate Town following a replay.

They remain on -9 points having only picked up three draws all season. Despite the ten places and 33-point gap in the table, Sarll will be making sure his side are ready for the challenge.

“I have massive respect for (Dover Manager) Andy Hessenthaler, a brilliant, brilliant player, we shared a mentor type figure in the brilliant Glenn Roeder, you can never take anything easy against an Andy Hennenthaler team, it’s not in his charachter.

We need to be fully prepared, highly motivated, we’re obviously in good form, there’s no denying that and we need to make sure our form stretches at least one more game”