Boss demands big performance at home to Yeovil
Mark Yates is challenging the players to put pressure on themselves to produce a consistent run of good performances, starting at home to Yeovil on Saturday.
“It’s time to step it up a notch,” said the boss as he previewed the visit of the Glovers.
“We had a poor result and performance (against Mansfield) last Saturday but, to be fair, the attitude of the players this week has been spot on. They know they let themselves and the club down but since Tuesday our focus has been on what is going to be another difficult game against Yeovil and they have worked very hard.”
The boss believes the effort the players have put into the first six games isn’t reflected in their points haul, but with ten matches to come in the next six weeks in League and Cup he believes tomorrow is the time for the squad, boosted by the arrival of Ross Jenkins and Rhys Murphy, to start asserting themselves more on the opposition.
“We’re still in some ways a work in progress and we’ve added two new faces to the group this week, but we’ve been together for 10-12 weeks now and we need to step it up a notch," he added. "That has been the message to the players this week: it’s time to impose ourselves on the opposition because the only way we are going to climb the table is to win more games. We think we’re in a false position but the only way of improving it is to put pressure on ourselves, without going gung ho, to get some wins under our belt.”
Yeovil are struggling with injuries with at least ten players unavailable to Paul Sturrock, their experienced manager. But Mark expects the Glovers, who came down with Reds from League One last season, to provide a stern test.
“They have got a lot of threats we need to be aware of,” added Mark. “Set pieces, in particular, is something they are strong at. They have beaten Luton this season which was a great result and Paul will get the maximum out of his team, whoever he selects.”
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