Our first game of 2025 takes place at the Raymond McEnhill stadium, the home of Salisbury, a team where Warren Feeney spent previous time coaching in his career.
Yesterday we sat down with our new gaffer, where he laid out our must-have attitude, the importance of supporters, and more…
On our Boxing Day result:
I thought we were exceptional. For the first 20 minutes Torquay United were excellent, you could see why they are where they are, but afterwards we got our foot in the game. It was disappointing to see us concede but on the flip side why showed great character to fight back and earn a point.
Before Boxing Day we hadn’t scored at home in the league before the 70th minute; now we’ve broken that duck. Psychologically that day was massive for us.
On our character:
Boxing Day was a game they may have lost earlier in the season, but now it’s vital that they perform like this week-in, week-out. That’s what top players do and it’s the mentality we have to have for the rest of the season. There’s still a lot of games to play.
These players shouldn’t be in the position they are, because they’ve shown they’ve got it in them. But, we are where we are , though if we can get a couple of wins under our belt our fortunes will start to change.
On thinking forward:
We have to. The start of the season is now history, and this moment we have to make sure we’re competitive and make sure we’re in games until the very end. There will be ups and downs, but we’ve got to stay level-headed.
We’ve had two good results against great sides. Now we have to take the positives from those games and kick on from there.
On Brandon Goodship:
He’s got quality and players like him are exactly what we need to get out of this situation. I hope the younger players in particular look up to him and realise what a good player he is.
On our volunteer supporters:
They’re good people. They give up their free time to help out at the club, so it’s vital that we keep everyone together, especially given the situation that we’re in. People don’t realise the level of hard work that goes on behind-the-scenes at football clubs, which is why we’re desperate to put a smile on these people’s faces.
On today’s game:
I used to coach for Salisbury, I know the manager Brian Dutton well, so I know just how tough this game will be. We will be playing on an exciting New Year’s Day, and it’s a game we’re all looking forward to.
But we can’t worry too much about how they will play. We just need to keep focusing on ourselves.
On our away form:
As I’ve said, our home form is the main thing I want to improve, but if we’re able to pick up points on the road it makes our job that much easier. Sometimes there’s a little less pressure playing away from home, but we need to make sure we find the right balance.
On using an “underdog” status to win games:
Salisbury will be the favourites as they’re the home team, but there’s pressure in every game. Full respect to them, but we have a plan and we know what we need to do. Hopefully we’ll come away with a win.