ALCESTER TOWN MANAGER DANNY JANES PREVIEWS THE CLASH v GNP SPORTS...

Alcester Town FC manager Danny Janes talks about his team’s next game against league leaders GNP Sports on Saturday...


GNP on Saturday, who are running away with the league: do you fancy your chances?

“GNP are having an excellent season, their record is absolutely incredible. Full credit must go to the players and the management team for the progress they have made. Despite their record, I fancy our chances against anyone at this level. We have a squad full of quality and we can match any team in our league on the day, but we know it is going to be a very tough game. If we are going to win, then I need every player to perform 9/10 and if we do that then we have a great chance.”


Do you see the game on Saturday as a ‘must win' match?

“Yes I do, I am not going to hide from the fact that we have to win. Spectators might say that a draw is a good result as GNP are unbeaten in the league but we are not in a position to drop points and I have high standards of my players: I expect them to win every week because of the quality we have.”


It is well documented that you and Shamir have exchanged words previously, are you concerned that this could impact on your team?


“Absolutely not, the team is ready and focused. I am not going to lie, myself and Sham have disagreed on a few things but that is because football is a game of opinions. It is all lighthearted... He likes to speak his mind and I like that, I like how confident he is. He has every right to have an arrogance about him, his team are doing the business and they are top of the league, unbeaten. The players are delivering the goods, they are doing their talking on the pitch. 

Don’t get me wrong, a few of his comments are quite odd and at times I think quite disrespectful. His comments around us paying the players we have recently signed for the run-in were embarrassing and very disrespectful to Alcester Football Club. 

We signed players at the start of the season who should be playing in Division 1, they are unable to commit to mid-week games so this level is more ideal for them. Now that we have a lot of mid-week games, I have had to use my contacts to ensure we have cover for the players who work in the week. We don’t pay players so if they have to work then we can’t argue with that. To make a comment like he did was pretty low and rumours like that can unsettle teams. 

It is a shame because most managers I speak to are not happy with the rumours that GNP are paying players, but I always defend Shamir. I am not suggesting that he is paying players but if he is then why not? If you have the money to do it then great, I am sure a lot of teams are paying players. I would love to have a budget to work with. So for him to make that comment and assume we are paying players was disappointing, especially after I have defended and praised GNP’s progress.”


You have not played for two weeks, is this an ideal game to be coming into?

“The last two weeks have not been ideal in terms of the games being called off, but it is not an issue. Training can be difficult for us and I am sure a lot of teams at this level experience the same problems as us. A lot of players work in the week so they are unable to train, disrupting a lot of elements. The sessions we deliver in my opinion are very high level, but it is up to the players at training to deliver the principles on the pitch. It is hard to prepare for games when you have 3 or 4 players missing from training, but that is a common issue at this level and we have to accept that. We have struggled to score goals consistently over the last few games so we will look to address that and make a slight tactical change for this Saturday.”

You say you are an attacking team but there were questions around your attacking intent when you last played GNP. Will you be more positive this time around?


“Every game we play we set up to win the game. I felt we played well for the first 25 minutes at their place and looked the better team, but then the entire quality of the game dropped and I felt both sides struggled. The second-half was more of the same and then we had a player sent off, so naturally the team then had to sit a bit deeper. 

I felt we were very positive when we went there but Sham got a bit confused with his formations as he accused us of playing defensively and yet we had two strikers and a number 10 on the field. We will set up to attack and play on the front foot this week, but at the same time we know the first goal will be important. We can’t concede the first goal... 

I like us to play through the thirds of the pitch, but we can play with variation when we need to. I went to watch GNP when they played away at FC Stratford and I remember reading that Sham recognised that Stratford play football and he wanted to keep the ball longer than them. All I saw was both teams playing direct football, so it is not always possible for a team to deliver what the manager wants every week.”


If the result doesn’t go your way, do you rule yourself out of the promotion chase?

“Absolutely not, for there are so many games to play. I agree with what Sham has said in terms of there being 8 teams chasing promotion. We have slipped up a few times this season and we can’t afford to again, but it won’t rule us out. I am GNP’s biggest fan at the moment, as they need to play the sides around us, so I am hoping they will do us a few favours. Everyone wants to be the first team to beat GNP, which is why I admire their players so much; most teams play them without fear as they are expected to lose. I am sure most teams put an extra 10% in against them in attempt to be the first team to beat them, which is why their record is so impressive.”


Do you think the result will play a part psychologically in relation to the Cup Final?


“I don’t think so, a cup-final is a cup-final and anything can happen. I suppose if one of us gets the win then it is reassuring to know that you have beaten that team, but I don’t think it will make a major difference. 

YEAH, THE BODGING HAS VISITED ALCESTER TOWN FC BEFORE...

I am really looking forward to the final, I honestly think it is a game between the best two teams in the division. I fully appreciate that people will disagree with me there, as the league table does not suggest that. The games we have dropped points in have been down to us under-performing and we must take responsibility for that, but I strongly believe we are one of the top two teams in the division.”


The Cup Final is nice to look forward to but you are fully focused on the league for now?


“Oh absolutely! I am looking forward to the Final but it is at the back of my mind and really we have cup-finals every week now until the end of the season as our target is to achieve promotion. The players can forget the Final for now, we have a lot of work to do and they are playing for their places.”


And finally, are you confident the game will be on this week?


“I really hope so, for we have so many fixtures to play as do a lot of teams in the league. We will do our best to ensure the pitch is playable, I am sure GNP feel the same. The players can’t wait to play, they do not want another game called off. I am also looking forward to such an interesting game, I really admire the GNP players as not only have they got quality but they back it up on the pitch and they have a bit of class about them. 

I hope to speak more with Sham as we didn’t really speak over at their place and to be honest I thought he was the groundsman! 

I hope he lets me buy him a drink after the game.”