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Mid-season review with Jamie Godbold

Mid-season review with Jamie Godbold

Sean Galea-Pace16 Jan 2019 - 13:32
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With the season reaching the halfway point, Sean Galea-Pace catches up with manager Jamie Godbold and reviews the season so far.

It’s Tuesday 15th January. Lowestoft Town are fourth bottom of the Southern League Central and one point above the relegation zone. However, it’s safe to say it’s a position they’d certainly take after game 42 at the end of April. Gone are the days of challenging at the summit of league tables and fighting for promotion; these days, certainly for the foreseeable future, the brief is to survive.

It’s an incredibly cold evening and the Lowestoft players have just begun training as I walk through the stadium gates. It is always a thoroughly enjoyable experience to catch up with the management team of Jamie Godbold (Godders) and Andy Reynolds (Reyns) during training sessions. Here, you can really see the work that goes into preparing the team for 3pm on a Saturday.

As I continue my walk into the ground, what I find most striking is that despite the club’s standing in the league table, there are smiles etched on the faces of the players and laughs transcending from the training pitch. This can only be down to the influence that Godders & Reyns have had on the club since arriving in the summer. It’s clear that Godders and Reyns love the club and their passion shines through the good times and the bad. The previous weekend, the Trawlerboys earned a creditable 1-1 draw away at Rushden & Diamonds in a game they could have taken all three points from. Some would say it’s been the story of the season; another game that on a different day could have resulted in three points for Lowestoft Town. Ahead of the visit of Redditch United at The Amber Dew Events Stadium this weekend, I sat down with manager Jamie Godbold and reflected on a testing season so far.

We’re over halfway through the season. Is it fair to say the club is in a position where you realistically expected it to be at the beginning of the campaign?
I think that would be a fair assumption. Having picked up the club when we did we came in with clear limitations on budget. We had two contracted players; one of who decided to leave when we came in and the other who has been out injured for the entirety of the season so far. It then led us to the task of assembling a squad that was capable of playing at step three under the budget constraints that we had. I believe we are where I feel we set out to be at the beginning of the season because from day one, our collective goal set out by staff and players was to stay in the division. I think we started off really well and picked up some really good results in the first few games of the season and unfortunately for one reason or another, we just haven’t been able to maintain those early season results.

Despite the results, the players still seem happy to be in and around the club. How difficult has it been to keep spirits up when results haven’t been going your way?
I think that’s been one of the most difficult things to do, particularly during spells when we are not picking up points. If players aren’t enjoying their football, then it becomes evident on the pitch on matchdays so it’s important we try to create an environment where they came and enjoy their football. I don’t think there have been too many games where we’ve been out of our depth which probably has surprised me a little bit. I did feel that there would have been more games where we would have taken a beating but I can only think of three or four games where we just didn’t show up on the day. In most other games, we’ve definitely been competitive and really made teams work. We have conceded last minute goals which has had a major impact on our league position, without them you can add another seven or eight points to our tally and then we become a mid-table team because that’s how tight the league is.

As you say, there have been many games where the result could have gone either way. Your side just seem to have fallen short in many of the 50/50 matches, haven’t you?
I look at the teams that are flirting with the play-offs and Rushden & Diamonds who we played on Saturday, they’re in the play-offs, we’ve drawn both games 1-1 and they needed a last-minute equaliser to draw when they came to our place. I think of Needham Market, on our day we can match them because we know the players particularly well, and they’re right up there. We’ve played Biggleswade at home and beaten them 2-1, we played Alvechurch and lost to a last-minute goal. The games in this league are really closely-fought and there’s been too many games where we have just fell on the wrong side of the victory. It happens too consistently for it to be unlucky so obviously game management is a key area where we have fallen short this season, in part due to the age and experience of our squad particularly when our experienced players have been missing. It’s been a fantastic learning curve for me, the management team and the players. I think what we have tried to make sure is that we all don’t get too disheartened and downbeat over these results because once you get into that mood, it’s incredibly difficult to get out of. Every point and result that we get is a real positive one and we’re bouncing tonight because we performed reasonably well against a quality side in Rushden at the weekend and came away with a result.

Scoring goals has been a real issue for the club all season long. Lowestoft seem to be able to score one but then struggle to put teams to bed and score that killer second goal. How much is the club missing a clinical striker to put the ball in the back of the net on a consistent basis?
When I think of the teams around the top of the table, each one of them has a clinical player in front of goal that they can rely on. For us, we need to be at our best to create and score goals. If we’re not at our best then we find it really difficult to break teams down and fashion chances. Take Jake Reed for example. We played Leiston on New Years Day and having gone 1-0 up I couldn’t see how they were going to score, then all of a sudden the ball falls into an area in the box and he strokes it home. We miss those predatory instincts in and around the box. Most of our goals have been the result of well-worked moves or perhaps a mistake that we have capitalised on and because we don’t have that 20 goal a season striker we are relying on players to chip in from all over the pitch and unfortunately we have fallen short in that area. However, scoring goals is an area that we’re continuously looking to address from a recruitment point of view but we regularly work on hitting the back of the net in training.

Another major issue the club has struggled with this season and in previous seasons is the high amount of injuries. Is there anything that can be done to address that problem?
It’s a difficult one to address as we have had various injuries, from impact injuries to muscle pulls so there hasn’t been anything too consistent that we might put down to the training regime for example. We’ve had several discussions as coaching staff around injury prevention and training regimes and will continue to monitor all that we do. We’ve not been in a position where we could rest players so perhaps that’s a possible reason for some of them.

We were missing eight on Saturday. I’ve been really conscious to not use injuries as an excuse for being near the bottom of the table. But when you have a small squad like we have but to miss eight has been incredibly difficult. This season, it’s been very easy to pick a team because the team has almost picked itself on a weekly basis. It has been a case of who’s available and let’s try and fit a system in and around who we have available. We’re soon coming up to the business end of the season and are due to have everyone back in the next three weeks. By the middle of February, I’d like to think we will have a squad capable of winning games, plus a group of players on the bench that we can change things up tactically if needs be because that’s something that we just haven’t had the luxury of all season.

I suppose, at least a silver lining is that inexperienced players that have replaced first-team absences will have gained first-team experience and will be in a better position to change the game when called upon when the first team players return from injury?
Absolutely! I think it’s fair to say that some of our young players have started more games than we might have anticipated but that’s what building a squad is for. I think it’s also important to add that if they do well they will keep the shirt, whether the more experienced players are injured or not. Henry Pollock has been very good in recent weeks and deserves to play, and if Fowkes can continue on from where he left off on Saturday he is another that deserves to keep his shirt. Kieran Higgs is a player who is having his first season in adult football and has made huge strides in his own development. Add him to the loans we have at the moment with Vega, Hughes and Johnson this experience is vital for their progress and development. The likes of Pinheiro, Hedge and Wren, whilst not featuring in too many games, the experiences they are getting in training is invaluable. Having these lads step up is increasing competition for places which helps drive performances. I think that’s what we have lacked all season because if they’re fit, they’re playing at the moment.

Just how important have the fans been this season? There’s a core group that follow home and away and always make their presence felt. How vital is it to have such great support?
I think the majority has been fantastic. They appreciate our position, the team and the problems we are faced with. The fans have been onside all season and I think what they see is a group of players wearing the shirt with pride, trying their hardest and running their hearts out and that’s the minimum that we and the supporters want to see. As long as players are doing their best then that’s the most important thing. We’ve probably been clapped off more times this season than anytime before since I’ve been involved at the club, yet we find ourselves in the bottom four of the league. The support we’ve had has been absolutely brilliant and I can’t thank the fans enough.

In terms of incomings, are there any new signings on the horizon?
We signed Marcus Wilkinson from Wroxham last week. He’s a pacey winger and a bit of a game-changer. Marcus has a great attitude and deserves an opportunity to play at a higher level. He has the right mind-set and ability to have a go at this level so we’ll see how he gets on.
We are continuously looking to strengthen the squad – it’s an ongoing process and not been as easy as people might think to bring people in. nevertheless, if a good player becomes available and they fit the profile of what we are looking for then of course we would be interested in looking to bring them in.

With all injured players due back by the middle of February, what is the time period on individuals returning?
Travis Cole has stepped up his rehab over the past couple weeks and we are hoping he will be in full training next week. He’s doing some non-competitive stuff and we’re slowly integrating him back with the group. We’ve waited this long for him now so we’re really keen not to rush him back. Jacek Zielonka has been out since September but he received some good news today that he doesn’t require an operation so hopefully he’ll be back in the next two or three weeks. Josh Curry is rested tonight as he has played four games in the last two weeks following a three-month injury lay-off. Fisky is back in light training tonight, Rossi Jarvis is probably about 3 weeks away and Elvijs should be available for selection next week.

Redditch United at home at the weekend. What sort of test are you expecting?
I’m expecting a tough challenge. We played them away earlier on in the season and lost 4-2 and it was probably our most physical game to date and one in which we never showed up on the day. It was just a game where we weren’t ourselves so we have to make sure we turn up with the right mind-set and be prepared for the physical battle. It’s one of 17 cup finals we have left to win 3 points and I imagine they will be coming here to bounce back after a poor result last weekend. Hopefully with home advantage and the backing of our supporters will motivate us to perform well and get the result our efforts deserve.

Finally, are you enjoying your time back at Lowestoft Town?
Haha! Enjoying it? It’s certainly been challenging but I took this role knowing that the short term future of this club would a rollercoaster with more downs than ups. This is a long-term project which both myself and Andy have brought into, to help make it a more sustainable, community-based football club that belongs to the town. The challenge for us has been to try and balance short term results with a long term vision whilst also managing full time jobs and young families! Nevertheless, if we continue to develop off the pitch the future of LTFC looks bright.

A big thank you to Godders for being so open and transparent about the current situation at the club. Come and back the Trawlerboys as we look to fight against the drop this season, starting with the visit of Redditch United this Saturday (19th January), 3pm KO at The Amber Dew Events Stadium!

Further reading