an interview with head coach colin lippiatt
August 1998: Martin Baker (aka Badger) conducted this interview with Head Coach Colin Lippiatt after the final pre-season friendly against Weymouth. An edited verson appeared in the match programme for the home league game against Kingstonian on 18th August 1998. |
What have been your feelings and thoughts around our pre-season friendlies?
Well, they've been interesting, in the context of looking at players. You're looking at the shape of the team but importantly to start with you're looking at trying to get players back into a match tempo. It's about getting their mental sharpness back, and to get things ticking over again.
In the early part of the friendlies it was case of mix and match, and in the later games I've tried to look a little more constructively at what might be the starting line-up. That's why I started against Weymouth with the same line-up as I started on Tuesday against Woking, because I thought we played well there.
How do you reconcile what was a good win at Woking, with say, the performance against Weymouth?
Well, over the 90 minutes, I still felt we should have got something from the game because we certainly had the majority of the possession. However, you can count all the possession you get in a game but there must be an end product.
Personally I was disappointed in the two goals we conceded. For the first goal, players argued that Rob Cousins had been fouled, but we committed a cardinal sin; we must play on unless the decision is given by the referee, which we didn't. Al-James was then out-muscled by Laws who tucked it away. With the second, a player is always nominated to be at the end of the eighteen yard area when we defend corners; he didn't do that job, he went into another area, so obviously we had to pick that out as an issue. You can't keep making excuses and coming out with the words "if only", because that won't win us anything. So I was disappointed with that, but our overall play was quite good, our passing at times was slightly iffy, we got into some good areas.
I thought that they had a slightly charmed life, the keeper was close to being man of the match for me, but the end product was that we lost the game, which was disappointing.
Having looked at it, and thought about it, the shape of the team got changed too early with Stott and Pickard coming off, but it gave me an opportunity to see Carl Dale and to see one or two players in different areas.
Most of the bookies have got us down as a mid-table side. Does that surprise you?
Not really, because people look at the league last year and we finished half way. The bookies are only really looking at a possibility of who's going to win it, who's going to finish runners up and who's going to struggle. I don't think I take too much notice of odds, but what I would say is that, although we finished half way last year, I think the important thing for Yeovil Town this year is to consolidate and build on that.
I think the people who represent the club including the supporters, who we have the upmost respect for because they are a very important and integral part of the club, would agree with that. If we can win it then great, but if we can move on from mid-table and maybe get into the top six or maybe become a threat, I don't think I would complain and neither would the club or its supporters.
Who do you think is going to be challenging?
I've said, and I haven't changed my mind, I think whoever finishes above Rushden & Diamonds will win it. I go for the fact that not only have they got the money, but they have got a large squad. They're full time, which should pay really. And when it comes to the money, which has to be spent wisely, if they were in a situation where they looked like winning it, they've really got a "carte blanche" of who they can get in to strengthen it. Or if they lose one or two important players, they've also got an option to replace them, and a lot of clubs haven't got that.
Our first home game is against Kingstonian, how strange is going to be to see Geoff Chapple on another bench?
I think it will be strange, but with the greatest of respect I'd be failing my job if I focused on that. What I've got to focus on is that it is our first home fixture and Geoff is going to do a job for Kingstonian and I'm going to do a job for Yeovil. It will be very competitive; there's a friendly rivalry there as we still chat to each other on the phone. I suppose he would like to turn me over, in a competitive world, and obviously I would like to turn him over. But it wouldn't be out of animosity; it would merely be competitive within the framework of football within the Conference.
Our home form was superb last season verging on championship form, but the away form over the whole season was somewhat disappointing. Do you see that as psychological or tactical or maybe something else?
The more I put my mind to it, I personally don't believe its got anything to do with formation or tactics. I've got a feeling it might have something to do with personnel and possibly it may come from the fact that because it was their first season back. It's a bit of a culture change, because we are travelling a lot of miles for these games, so I tend to think it could be down to mental strength, rather than tactics. But we'll have a look at it at Kettering and see what happens. [Yeovil went on to win away at Kettering, then lose at home to Kingstonian and Hednesford! - Ed]
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