Yeovil Town defender Alex Whittle has said the competition for his left-back position from recent arrival Jay Foulston is pushing both players’ performance levels up.
The 30-year-old, who signed following his release by York City in the summer, has been a regular fixture in the back line for much of the season, but the arrival of Foulston has given manager Mark Cooper options in that position.
Speaking ahead of the weekend’s trip to St Albans City, Whittle said: “Most clubs I have been at there are usually two clubs for each position and here there is in most positions.
“Jay has come in and played well and we are pushing each other and we probably both polay better with a bit of competition.
“The way I play is maybe different to other clubs I have been at. I did get five goals one season when I was at Chesterfield, but the Gaffer likes Mike pushing on the right side and I come in to a back three at times.
“I like to create opportunities for others. Goal contributions, a pre-assist, they are all fancy words but as long as we are winning it’s fine.”
In 2018, Whittle lost a play-off final to win a spot in National League North with Warrington Town, and twice missed out in the National League play-offs with Chesterfield in 2021 and 2022, so he admits automatic promotion would be nice this season.
He said: “I have always been around the play-offs and beaten in a few finals, so it would be nice to go straight up.
“It is a good set of lads here, we have got a nice lead now but we have to keep pushing. There’s still a long way to go, there’s 19 more games to go so we can’t let standards drop.
“It’s nice to get clean sheets, but for me it is just about winning games. The back five has done well, but everyone is working hard for each other. You want to do well but it’s a team game.”
Having had to sit Tuesday night out due to a waterlogged pitch at Truro City, Yeovil travel to ninth-placed St Albans City looking to make it six successive wins in National League South.
Whittle does not think a week off will do his team-mates any harm, he said: “I just think about the next game. Every game is different, after some games you can feel tired on a Monday and think you have a game on Tuesday, so you notice that tiredness. But on a game day, the adrenaline gets you through.
“We have a big squad with two players for every position, so if the Gaffer needs to chop and change, I am sure he will do that.
On Saturday’s opponents, he added: “This is my first time in Conference South, so I don’t know a lot about them. I know Jack James (at St Albans) who was at Gloucester with me and he’s a good player, so they’ll have threats. They have been on a good run and away from home is always tough, so we have to be solid and hope the front lads can score.