Ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Worthing, manager Warren Feeney was asked about our place in the Dorset Senior Cup Final, the potential of our youth players, and more…
Here’s what he had to say:
On last weekend’s result:
I would obviously rather we kept a clean sheet, but on the plus side we are scoring goals. I asked for a response from the players after we lost to Welling United, and I certainly got that against Dorking Wanderers. I thought we matched them and, after it took some quality from Rhys Murphy for them to win it, I told the players that if they can keep putting in performances like that with 21 games remaining, they’ll give themselves a chance to stay up.
On the key to putting in consistent performances:
I think a lot of it is down to confidence. These players are certainly having a go, although confidence seems to be lacking at the moment. As I’ve said before, the main thing I want is to see them be competitive and they certainly are, but bit by bit we need to build ourselves up going forward and turn these performances into wins.
On Ibrahim Meite:
Ibrahim is someone that I know very well and I thank the board for helping get him in. I know that people can look at his past, but he’s a great kid. I’ve worked with him before and he’s just what we need. We’ll get him up to speed, get him fit, and he’ll be a big player for us.
On bringing additions into the squad to manage injury setbacks:
We’re getting a lot of injuries at the minute, a lot of muscle injuries, so besides Ibrahim we’re still looking to strengthen the team with a couple of injuries. It’s just about finding the right players.
On Charlie Rowan’s injury:
We’re hoping it’s not as bad as we first thought, but he could be out for a couple of weeks. This period is unfortunate for a lot of the players, we’ve had a run of a lot of games and now some are picking up muscle injuries, but we’ve just got to carry on and push forward with the players we still have.
On our win in the Dorset Senior Cup on Tuesday:
We’re in the final now, and I want to win any cup we’re in. The young boys and the older players all applied themselves very well with their attitude, and now the final is something that everyone can look forward to.
On what our youth players can learn from the older ones:
I’m never shy to put kids in the team. I’ve always held the belief that if they’re good enough, they’re able to play. They were brilliant tonight and hopefully they can give the supporters something to cheer about.
On the confidence that winning cup games can give us going forward:
The most important thing is to obviously win games, but this will boost us and now we’re in a cup final. It will be a tough game, anything can happen, so we will have to make sure we’re ready.
On Worthing:
They’re a very good team. They’re carrying on from where Adam Hinshelwood left off and they play very good and confident football. But, we have to believe that we can get something from this game.
On being formidable away from home:
As I’ve said, we need to try and win as many home games as we can, but we need to go to Worthing full of confidence. The pressure will not be on us, and my message to the players has been: go out there with a smile on your face. We seem to do better against the bigger teams, and this is a contest we’re all looking forward to tomorrow.
