Ahead of our trip to Braintree Town in the Enterprise National League, we spoke to Mark Hughes.
Speaking ahead of the game, Hughes discussed the arrival of Ephraim Yeboah, recent form, squad rotation and the challenge awaiting his side at Braintree.
Here is everything we learnt:
New addition Ephraim Yeboah
“He’s a good young player, got a lot of attributes that I think will help us.
“We’re a little bit light in certain areas with Josh Williams and Junior Luamba [out with injury], especially with Junior having a setback, so he gives us more cover.
“He’s got good experience for a young player as well so we think he’s going to help us with the games we have remaining.”
What Yeboah brings to the squad
“He’s high energy, got a good work ethic which is important if you want to play in any of my teams.
“He’s got good pace, good awareness and flexibility as well, he can play right across the front three positions.
“So yeah, he’s a good acquisition.”
A strong win over Halifax
“I was really pleased with our mentality going into that game.
“We were up against a team on a good run so we had to be right [at it] and we were spot on, we understood what we needed to do.
“We had very few moments where we came under sustained pressure and felt we could have won the game more comprehensively.”
Linney’s impact this season
“On the back of the start he had, he was outstanding early on in the season.
“It seemed like whenever he had a shot it went in but that was unsustainable so we knew goals would become harder to come by.
“I thought the other night he worked really hard for the team and was always a threat.”
Adapting to expectations
“I think people underestimate what a big change it was for him coming to a club like ours.
“When you’re a striker you’re judged very quickly but thankfully that didn’t happen with him.
“He’s certainly a better player now than when he arrived.”
Strength in squad depth
“I think it’s a testament to how they conduct themselves and how they train day in, day out.
“When guys go out of the team they know they have to be ready if they’re called upon.
“Credit to Jack [Ellis] and Terell [Thomas], I thought they were excellent and really understood what was required.”
Managing fitness and rotation
“The thinking was that we needed to protect a few.
“It was important to freshen the back line up and I’ll look to do that in different positions as well.
“It’s important to keep everybody where they need to be heading into these important games.”
Appreciating the travelling support
“It was a difficult fixture and I thought we came through it with flying colours.
“To get 400 or 500 fans there on a foul night was unbelievable really.
“We were really pleased to win the game for them and it was only right that we went over to thank them.”
Respecting the Braintree challenge
“It was a good day when we beat them 5-0 earlier in the season but it’ll be much more difficult away from home.
“They’ve run some very good teams close recently and probably belie their league position.
“So we’ll be very aware of that and make sure we don’t underestimate them.”
Building on strong form
“If you look at the last ten games we’ve won seven and drawn one so we’re in decent form.
“We’ll look forward to the game and try to continue that.
“And again, another long trip but we really appreciate the support that comes with us every time.”
