Ahead of the Middlesex Senior Cup tie clash with Uxbridge, Sam Watts got the pre-match views of Bobby Wilkinson…
The competition may not carry the same weight as the National League South, but Bobby viewed the match as a trophy his side want to win:
“It gives players a good run out. Uxbridge have a very good manager and we have a good relationship with the club. It’s all about giving people a good run out. But of course, it’s the next game so we want to win it. We won’t be taking it lightly, we will take it seriously.”
With a nasty head injury to Connor Stevens against Welling on Saturday, I asked him for the latest update:
“He has had eight stiches, it was a deep cut. They have to be in 7 days but after that he will be fighting and ready to go. But everyone has come in and is fighting to be in the team, and that makes it an honour to manage players who have that fight in them.”
And the latest on Jerome Okimo and Matthew Lench:
“Jerome should be back within 7 days too. He is getting a lot of treatment and we are making sure we get him back as quick as possible. Matt has 4 weeks left, possibly slightly longer.”
With the team going through many physically and mentally tough matches recently, Bobby said the squad are coping well:
“No problems, even with the injuries, we just dust ourselves down, look at the next game and give 110%. We have some tough games coming up, the main thing is to get our players recovered as quick as possible. We will make a couple of non-contract signings to keep the squad intact. Otherwise if you pick up one or two more injuries you could be struggling. You don’t win in this league without a good squad.”
And on the most recent signings, Simon Mensah and Joe Payne, who have both performed well:
“We signed them because they’re good lads. They fit right into this group, it’s a tight group on and off the park and they have fit in really well.”
Uxbridge are two leagues below, I asked Bobby whether it was an opportunity to give a chance to some of the younger talent in the club:
“We are bringing in two under 18 players for the match who deserve to be in the squad tomorrow, so credit to them. They will play some part of the game tomorrow. We want to look after these players and we try our best to make it a family club and bring everyone together. The under 18s managers also deserve a lot of credit. They have been at our training sessions, watching, listening and learning.”
