Ahead of Tuesday’s FA Cup clash against Warrington Rylands, we caught up with Wayne Goodison to discuss preseason so far and preview next week’s tie.
When asked for his reaction to the draw, Wayne told me “it’s one of the most difficult games we could have and it’s the exact same for them.”
He continued, “I’m really looking forward to the game and so are the players. We had two really good games against them last year and we know they’ll come and play good football against us. They’ve got some good players; we get on well with their management and with fans allowed back it should be a great occasion. The way we see it, if you’re going to do anything in the FA Cup, then you have to go through at least two or three difficult games in the process and this is one of them.”
It was clear from speaking to Wayne that he believes it’ll come down to “who can impose their style better on each other on the day.”
“We expect them to pose a similar threat to last year. We like the way they play and we’re sure they’ll feel the same about the way we do. They play good football with a high tempo and have obviously strengthened their side, but so have we. The signings we’ve made have improved us and we want to do better than we did last season so Tuesday will be a good test for us. I believe it will come down to who can impose their style better on each other on the day.
The main thing for us is that it brings back some more normality. I’ve said it many times before that both sides won’t be totally ready, but the FA Cup gives us and the players an extra level of focus especially against tough opposition.”
Wayne highlighted our pressing ability could be the difference between the two sides on Tuesday night.
“It took us a long while to get this right, even before last season. We looked at what we could do better and we felt playing a high tempo game in and out of possession would be fundamental. No matter what people say about how well we supposedly did last year, it all comes down to how committed the lads are too each other, with and without the ball. For us, it’s vital to play that way because without that energy, we aren’t the team we can be. We’ve worked on certain elements of this throughout preseason and I’m sure they have too.”
To get your tickets to our Extra Preliminary round tie vs Warrington Rylands, head over to our club shop to purchase them to limit cash handling on the day.