Captain Jake Wannell has said Yeovil Town’s players have got their “bite” back after the first week under new manager Danny Webb.
The defender said the intensity of training sessions had increased ahead of Saturday’s trip to Tamworth which will be followed by a a visit to Aldershot Town four days later.
Speaking to BBC Somerset reporter Jack Killah on Friday, Wannell said: “It has been a new phase, new view on everything, he wants us to be fitter so early in the week we have had a few tough sessions. We had a session called ‘Murder Ball’ which was hell. I hope we never do that again! Then towards the back end of the week it has been more tactical, so we have seen that side of him as well. If there was a midweek game this week I think that would have slowed us down, so it has probably been good for the Gaffer to have a full week with the team.
“He has not flooded us with too much information, but the intensity has gone up and everyone has gone up a gear which is good with tackles flying in in training, people sulking when they lose, so we have got that bite back. I think he is the kind of manager who will talk to players individually, he has put his arm around a few people already and put his arm around the club which is most important and I think he will bring the best out of the players individually as well. I think we just need to be calm as an attacking unit and a defensive unit, I don’t think we have been miles off it this season, I just think if we tidy up in all departments as we did (against Woking) we will be okay.”
The return of Kyle Ferguson to the defensive unit alongside Wannell and Morgan Williams for the past three games has brought greater solidity to the Yeovil backline. Having conceded seven goals in two matches against Gateshead and FC Halifax Town, the Glovers kept clean sheets in last Saturday’s 1-0 home win over Woking and the 1-0 victory at Solihull Moors, with a 3-1 loss to York City sandwiched in between.
With Alex Whittle’s fitness seemingly ruling him out of a start at Tamworth this weekend, it seems likely the Glovers’ defence will be unchanged and Wannell believes that will help.
He said: “It is important because the more you play alongside the same person, the more consistent you are going to be. We had a blip where we conceded seven goals in two games, but that is behind us now, we have got a new unit and hopefully we can build on that. Kyle had a slow start to pre-season, but he has looked really solid in the last few games so long may that continue.”
Webb’s focus on set pieces, a role he took on with defensive and attacking players during his time as assistant manager at Chesterfield, has been apparent in his first week training with his new players.
He was watching from the Huish Park stands as he saw his side scoring from a corner to grab the win over Woking in second half stoppage time. It was Wannell’s header from Brett McGavin’s corner which gave Luke McCormick the chance to lash home that winner and the Glovers’ captain knows set pieces will be vital if they are to get any success against a physical Tamworth side.
He added: “We had said as a unit that we want to score more goals as a defensive unit which we did in injury time against Woking which was nice. We did set pieces in training on Thursday and Friday, so hopefully we can take that in to the game on Saturday. Everyone knows that on an artificial pitch with the long throws (from midfielder Tom Tonks) and the directness of their game will be a challenge, we drew there last year, so we will go there with a game plan and hopefully get three points. We have four games in two weeks, so hopefully we can get a good understanding of what the manager wants us to do in the away games and then get back to Huish Park.”