Ahead of the National League Premier season, Yeovil Town manager Mark Cooper has stated that he is still searching for “one or two” new players who can “make a difference.”
After the Glovers defeated Farnborough Town 2-1 in a preseason friendly on Saturday, the manager of the team took aim at “trolls” who he believes are attempting to undermine the team during his post-match interview.
He also verified that winger Jordan Stevens, who moved to the North and has played in all of the team’s preseason friendlies except for the trip to Hampshire, was no longer training at Huish Park.
Cooper stated, “We are in the market for a couple of players, we are monitoring a couple, but we want to make sure we get the right ones,” in an interview with the team’s official YouTube channel.
“There are still players aspiring to sign with League One or League Two teams, and not all of them will be resolved. We are currently waiting for one or two players who can truly turn things around, as we did with the addition of full-back Michael Smith and goalkeeper Joe Day to the team last year.” Then, we waited and obtained the appropriate ones.
Former Portsmouth and Kilmarnock full-back Brandon Haunstrup, who has been on trial for the past ten days, came on as a second-half substitute in the win at Farnborough. However, it seems that ex-Charlton Athletic academy defender Jacob Roddy has left, and Stevens, who was released at the end of last season, has also moved on.
Cooper expressed frustration over the negativity from “a minority” of people while praising supporters like those who joined a crowd of 622 on a sunny afternoon at Cherrywood Road on Saturday.
He said: “We have a really tight, united group who had a brilliant season last year. I’ve heard comments that we had a budget bigger than some League Two teams, which is complete nonsense. I’ve also heard that I’ve fallen out with the Chairman (Martin Hellier), which is also untrue.
“There are so many rumors trying to destabilize us when we should be entering this season full of optimism. Fans who come and support us, get behind the boys, and are excited when we win, but tonight there will be trolls criticizing players and everyone associated with the club, which is really frustrating.
“This should be a really good club. The Chairman has invested his money, and while many talk about doing that, few actually do. So fair play to him for that.”
Cooper continued: “Things won’t always go well with the weather and pitch conditions every game, but we need to ensure we compete and get something out of it. We had loads of supporters here today, and fair play to them, but you’re always dealing with a minority who are not supportive. Whatever their issue is, they need to get behind the football club and drive us forward because we are one campaign away from the Football League.
“I’m not going to say we will get promoted, but two teams have to get promoted. There are teams with bigger budgets than us, but we are competitive, we have a really good squad of players, and we just need to add a couple more to it.”
On Saturday afternoon, a late winner from substitute Jordan Thomas, making his first appearance since signing from Hampton & Richmond in the summer, secured victory and the Ted Pearce Memorial Trophy, a cup named after a former Farnborough manager.
Yeovil had been lackluster until they fell behind when a trialist put the National League South hosts ahead after 67 minutes. That goal, along with a flurry of substitutions moments before, sparked the visitors into life.
A superb solo run and finish from Dylan Morgan leveled the score at 75 minutes before Thomas scored the winner with three minutes of normal time remaining.
Cooper said: “The game started with the ball out of play for the first 15 minutes. We had a referee who, in both teams’ opinion, spoiled the game and slowed it down. The pitch was really dry, which you’re going to get, and it was a typical pre-season game where all we got out of it was minutes in the legs.
“People will question why we started with that team, but we’re just trying to manage minutes to ensure everyone is ready for the first game of the season. The only positive was we won the game and got another trophy.”
Midfielder Charlie Cooper was withdrawn after 48 minutes due to a “tight hamstring,” according to the manager. He was replaced by Brett McGavin.
The Glovers travel to Buckland Athletic for their penultimate fixture of the pre-season campaign on Tuesday night before heading to Weston-super-Mare next Saturday.
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