Manager Keith Millen revealed on Tuesday night that he’s hopeful that Jack Armer and Joe Riley could be back sooner rather than later, with the duo set to provide more in the way of competition for places when they return to the fold.
“I’m hoping they can get back into training by the end of the week,” he confirmed. “Fingers crossed, they’re the nearest two that might be available for Saturday.
“Gime Toure is back with us and he has a long-term injury. He’s having treatment, I saw him the other day, but he’s going to be out for a while.
“Obviously we had a young bench on Tuesday, but we had enough quality out there. We’ve got some injuries, but so has every team. It’s not really an excuse.
“We have enough in the dressing room where we should be picking up better results. The players know me by now, that I will do everything I can for them, and if I need to protect them I will, and if I need to put an arm around them I will.
“If I feel like I want to fight them, I will. At the moment I feel like I want to fight them. And I want them to fight with me on Saturday.
“I can’t go in there after we’ve lost a game and say listen lads, I’m gutted for you because you deserved more – that’s just not right. You have to go with your emotions and how you feel.
“That’s what I want to try and get out of them for the next few games. You can’t feel sorry for yourselves. I’ve told them that if they feel sorry for yourselves, don’t come in Thursday, I’ve got no problem.
“I just want people to come in on Thursday and Friday and try and put it right. We were in trouble when I first arrived and that hasn’t changed.
“What I’m concerned about and what I need to change is the mentality, I need to make sure we aren’t accepting where we are. If we get to a stage where I see an acceptance of where we are, then we’re in trouble, but I don’t see that.
“I see a group of players who are trying and who are hurting. I feel I need to be the one to help them a bit more. Whether that’s a change of shape on Saturday or a change of personnel. We’ve got a lot of injuries at the moment, so I haven’t got a lot of options, but somehow I need to change that.”
“I think we’ve improved the players in respect of the chances we’re creating,” he continued. “Tristan and Brad have worked their socks off in the last couple of games. You can’t complain. We’re not getting the goals from them or anyone in the team.
“Set-pieces - we hit the post in the first half, had another couple of chances, and in a lot of aspects, probably tomorrow when I’ve calmed down, I’ll reflect and think we’ve done a lot of good things.
“I’m experienced enough to know what’s needed now and it’s not me going in there saying listen lads, keep doing that and you’ll be ok. I’m kidding them if I say that. It’s not right.
“But I think it’s unfair to say they’re limited. You always want to improve players. You can see improvement in them, certainly, and you’ve just got to keep working with the players, and helping them.
“There’s no limits to where they can be. Their mindset is the problem – there’s that fear of, we can’t score a goal, once we go a goal down. We need to get rid of that and change it into a positive mindset.”
