Manager Paul Simpson gave us an injury update on Thursday ahead of Saturday’s game against Reading.
“Josh Vela is ok, he got a couple of whacks on Tuesday but he’s fit. Jack Armer and Taylor Charters also got whacks, but they’re all fit and will be available for this weekend which is a real positive.
“Josh Emmanuel and Ben Barclay have both trained fully so they’re back into the thinking for this weekend. Josh has been out longer than Ben, so he might need a bit of extra work, but we’re starting to get more and more bodies available which gives us more players to select from.
“JJ came to see us at the hotel on Tuesday when we were down for the Burton game and he’s expecting to be back out on the grass doing some running at Rotherham next week. The plan will be, if everything goes well with that running, that he’ll return to us the week after. Fingers crossed he’ll be back with us in the next week or two.
“It’s a slow burner with Georgie, he’s in the gym and starting to load the calf now but I’m not sure when we’ll be looking to get him out on the grass. The recovery is going ok, it’s slow, but ok. We’ll just keep building him up and wait for the right moment to get him back out there.”
After Tuesday’s victory at Burton, the manager confirmed that the mood in the camp has improved: “Obviously everybody comes in with a better feeling after a win. We’ve waited a long time for it, everybody at the football club has had to wait a long time for it.
“That’s not to say we haven’t been putting the work in, we have been, but on Tuesday night they showed a real desire and determination to defend the goal. We had a togetherness about us, and that’s something we’ve got to carry on.
“We’ve had one win, that’s it, but I’ve said all along that you have to get the first one to give yourself a chance of going on a run. We’ve got that win and given ourselves that chance, now we have to make sure we continue with the same type of attitude, determination and desire. It will be a totally different game on Saturday, but we have to show those same strengths like we did on Tuesday.
“The message from me hasn’t changed over the last few weeks, we have to earn respect back from the supporters and get some pride back in our performances and in the football club. That has gone and we have to accept that because we are the guilty parties. We’ve got to make sure we keep building and doing things right on the pitch to go with all of the positive things that are going on off the pitch.”
