After a weekend without football for County provided the opportunity for everyone to ‘reset’, manager Dave Challinor has said that he is excited about being able to introduce and re-establish players that have been sidelined through injury.
“It’s been a good week, bodies back outside which will only benefit us, and we look forward to Saturday and Tuesday, which probably fall into the same conversation in terms of the games that we have ahead of us, and we see an opportunity for lots of players to get some minutes over the two games.”
The gaffer has said the likes of Callum Connolly, Lewis Fiorini, Lewis Bate, Che Gardener and Tayo Adaramola, among others, have returned to first-team training this week – most of which have yet to feature for County this season, after picking up injuries in pre-season.
Challinor was also full of praise for Louie Barry, who was named League One Player of the Month for August, along with the rest of the squad for their performances over the last month.
“The big thing around us in this part of the month is that Louie has scored three standout goals, that I suppose will open things up for the media. That’s been part of a really successful run for the team and he’s played an integral part, but along with 11 or 12 other players, because we’ve had to go with the same group right way through. At the end of August to be sat with the best record in the league is not something to be sniffed at. Like I said, great for him but testament to the work that’s been done right across the board.”
Saturday’s game will also see Corey Addai return to his former club for the first time after making the switch from Crawley Town to Edgeley Park over the summer – something the manager sees as a welcome test for the goalkeeper.
“With Corey going back there, it’s always a challenge, I suppose it’s an enjoyable one going back to former clubs. The Crawley team of this year is very, very different from the Crawley team of last year that had the success that they had, because whether expected or not a lot of their players were picked off by teams who recognised the talents they had and benefits they would have to their team.”
When asked whether he was worried about similar interest from other clubs for his players, Challinor said:
“No, because that’s why we’re here. In football and this industry, in my eyes the aim has always been to get better and that’s personally and that’s my job as a coach. The clue’s in the title that I’ve got, coach the players to make them the best version of themselves. Now, if our players aren’t getting spoke about and our players aren’t getting interest from higher up, then you can have the argument that we’re not doing the job to the best of our abilities.”
You can watch the managers full pre-match interview here, where he discussed what Lewis Fiorini and Callum Connolly can offer the team, as well as the Crawley manager Scott Lindsey ahead of Saturday’s game.
