Mark Robinson believes that good foundations have been put in place to get the best out of his squad for 2021/22.
Speaking after the 1-0 defeat at Woking last night, Robbo talked enthusiastically about preparations for the big kick-off at Doncaster on Saturday 7 August.
“I thought there was loads to be pleased about, it was the closest we’ve been to us," our Head Coach said. "In the first-half we were really dominant. Obviously, people are going to get concerned because we haven’t scored, but we created opportunities. I thought Aaron (Pressley) was a different player to what he was on Saturday, he didn’t want to come off. I thought some of the football was really good, and it’s just about working on those details, but it will come. You don’t want to lose any games of football and we feel a bit flat because we’ve conceded a soft goal – we should have put the ball into touch.
“It (last night) was all about getting 90 minutes into players, and that’s what happened. Others will get 90 minutes on Saturday. Once the season starts, you will see the signs of that. Players will have had the full 90 minutes, and then we have a whole week leading up to the Doncaster game. I think our fitness levels will be high, and we will be where we need to be.”
Asked about the lack of goals in pre-season, Robbo said: “I see no problems at all. We didn’t have Macca or Ayoub out there. Henry has just joined us and he looked unbelievable in training, plus we didn’t have George Marsh or Will Nightingale. We’ve been splitting the squads and people might worry that we should be putting them together because we will lack cohesion. There won’t be any lack of cohesion.
"There were some really good moments, and we just have to put the finishing touches to the moves. On Saturday, other players will be getting minutes, and then we have a whole week to put it together. When I got the job we had a week to put it all together before the Wigan game, and we completely changed the style of football. I’ve got no worries that come the Doncaster match we will be firing on all cylinders.”
Our experienced midfielder Alex Woodyard added that this summer is the fittest he has ever been heading into a new season.
“It is the fittest I’ve been for a long time. That’s credit to Robbo and the intensity in training, along with Chris (McConnell) and all the medical staff. I sent Robbo a picture the other day because it’s the leanest I’ve looked for a long time! I’m pleased, and I feel in a good place. A lot of the boys feel that they are in a good place as well. You will see a lot of clubs stick with one team in pre-season, but come the start of the season you will have players in the squad that haven’t had many minutes. With us, we’ve all had equal minutes and it is a squad game. Everyone is going to be ready come the start of the season as players can step in and out when called upon.
“Overall, we are all really pleased, and Doncaster is when the real business starts. Robbo has recruited proper players, and you have to remember that we all haven’t played together just yet, but leading up to this game we’ve just worked on the attacking play. You can see already from a couple of sessions how bright it is. We’ve got 10 days to nail it down. Although results haven’t gone our way, I believe on the training pitch and in the games that there have been positive signs."