Head Coach looks ahead to tonight's Checkatrade Trophy tie
Dermot Drummy admits his options to make changes for tonight’s Checkatrade Trophy tie against Colchester United are limited by injury.
Reds make their bow in the new-look competition at the Checkatrade Stadium looking to bounce back from Saturday’s first League defeat of the season to Notts County.
Addison Garnett, Josh Payne, Matt Harrold and Jordan Roberts all missed the match and none are likely to figure this evening.
In addition, Josh Yorwerth had to come off in the first half and Jimmy Smith picked up a knock and their fitness will be assessed before kick-off.
The Head Coach said: “We do have to field a strong side anyway because of competition rules, there are only a certain number of changes we could have made.
“But we’ve got a few knocks and although none of them are long-term, we’ll obviously be a lot happier when we have them all back and available for selection.”
The Checkatrade Trophy has been revamped this season and Reds also play Charlton Athletic and Southampton U-23s before two teams go forward from the group stage to the knockout phase.
Three points will be awarded for a win and if any game finishes level after 90 minutes the teams will be awarded one point – and an extra point for winning the penalty shoot-out which
follows any drawn fixture.
Each League club must field at least five starters from their last league fixture or at least five of their top 11 appearance makers so far this season.
Dermot added: “I know our lads are looking forward to playing in big stadiums like Charlton and Southampton but I feel as far as the competition is concerned for a lot of people it will be interesting to see how it settles down and what the reaction of the fans is.
“But my priority is getting a result tonight. Colchester had an excellent win at Wycombe on Saturday so they will come here full of confidence but hopefully we can get back to winning ways
and put in a positive performance.”
