Minstermen must pile the pressure on Grays (From York Press)
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Minstermen must pile the pressure on Grays
9:19am Friday 3rd April 2009 in Sport
By Dave Flett, Sports reporter
YORK City manager Martin Foyle believes all the pressure will be on Grays Athletic during tomorrow’s crucial relegation clash at the Recreation Ground.
The Minstermen are level on points with fourth-bottom Grays but one position higher than the Essex club due to a superior goal difference of 17.
Foyle’s side also have two games in hand on the two-time FA Trophy winners, who will be bidding for maximum points in front of a crowd that grew restless during Tuesday’s 0-0 draw with mid-table Rushden.
The City boss said: “We are going there to win the game and there is more pressure on the home team because we’ve heard their supporters are going after them a bit at the moment. Hopefully, our fans can turn up in full voice as they usually do and help the lads to get a result.
“We need to go there, be positive and look to try to score an early goal to get them on their back foot as soon as possible.”
Should City lose at Grays, they will drop into the relegation zone for the first time this season but Foyle reiterated the fight for survival will not be concluded tomorrow regardless of the result.
With games against crisis club Weymouth, already-relegated Lewes, and Northwich, who could have joined them by the time of their arrival at KitKat Crescent next weekend, still to come, Foyle feels the Minstermen would need “locking up” if they failed to secure survival even allowing for a defeat to Grays.
He said: “The season will be nowhere near over after tomorrow’s match. After our game at home to Oxford on Tuesday night, there will be six games to go.
“We might need to win two out of those and, if we couldn’t get out of trouble from that situation, then we’d deserve to go down and should be locked up.”
With top scorer Richard Brodie beginning a two-match suspension, Foyle will also decide whether to dispense with the 4-3-3 formation that has seen City fire blanks in their last three games.
Foyle said: “Somebody will get a chance because of the suspension and we might go differently and look to play more football.”
Winger Adam Smith will not travel to Grays after suffering a bruised foot during Wednesday’s 1-0 reserve defeat against Leeds.
Foyle also revealed that concerns over his baby daughter have meant Smith has not been able to fully focus on his football since returning to the club from Gainsborough in January.
The City boss said: “Adam’s baby girl hasn’t been too well so we’ve been keeping him out of the picture as he hasn’t felt right mentally, which is understandable.
“We haven’t seen a lot of him on the training pitch because we’ve been giving him days off.
“He was getting back to his best though and then somebody goes and clatters him.
“I think he needs a good pre-season behind him in the summer and I’m sure he’ll be flying again then because he has a fantastic attitude.”
Comments(22)
Some old bloke
says...
10:27am Fri 3 Apr 09
Maybe the people who've been accusing Smith of being lazy will give him a break now.
paul stancliffe
says...
10:54am Fri 3 Apr 09
Imp
says...
10:54am Fri 3 Apr 09
Hope the lad can get things back on track soon.
bertieb
says...
11:30am Fri 3 Apr 09
Imp
says...
11:38am Fri 3 Apr 09
Very sad that we have so little draw we lose out to Dover Athletic.
Alan Fetish
says...
1:03pm Fri 3 Apr 09
Imp, that's an interesting comment. And disappointing indeed, although they've got a great thing going on at Dover with Andy Hessenthaler in charge. Two promotions on the bounce and I expect to see them challenging us before long. (Providing we stay up!)
Do you know of anything else in the trial pipeline? I think it is encouraging that such a player was scouted at all - proof that Foyle's net spreads a little further than Wrexham, perhaps?
Imp
says...
1:06pm Fri 3 Apr 09
paul stancliffe
says...
1:39pm Fri 3 Apr 09
THETELLEROFTALES
says...
2:12pm Fri 3 Apr 09
Duke of York
says...
3:29pm Fri 3 Apr 09
YORKCITYFC
says...
5:19pm Fri 3 Apr 09
Intresting comment about Sidibe, myabe he lives down south and that is why he chose Dover over us?
Imp
says...
6:29pm Fri 3 Apr 09
YORKCITYFC wrote:Lives in Stoke with his big brother. But Dover have the money to offer a deal now, we will have been looking to next season.
If Elliott is playing we must have a chance tomorrow? If I remember rightly Grays were dire when they played at York, we had 20 odd shots they had 1, however we still lost 1-0. If we score one early on tomorrow though, we could get two or three i reckon and win comfortably.
Intresting comment about Sidibe, myabe he lives down south and that is why he chose Dover over us?
Frank Black
says...
8:55pm Fri 3 Apr 09
A quick in out job all round especially as words can't fully describe how truly awful a place Grays is.
We Are York!
cityred1992
says...
5:10pm Sat 4 Apr 09
yorkieash
says...
7:46pm Sat 4 Apr 09
YORKCITYFC
says...
10:22pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Foyle sat in the dugout for 90 mins, absolutely no encouragement or words of advice/organisation at all for the team, he even says before the game it was not must win? Surely it would have gone a long way to securing safety Martin..? Wake up and show you care, that goes for the players, management and board, because if we go down, the day at Wembley will be a complete farce and waste of time..with no enjoyment at all for the fans.
From a depressed worried and annoyed city fan
p.s. I exclude Ingham from any critisism and only Ingham.
YORKCITYFC
says...
10:26pm Sat 4 Apr 09
It is as if nobody is worried about going down other than Ingham and the fans.
mack
says...
11:22pm Sat 4 Apr 09
Imp
says...
1:11pm Sun 5 Apr 09
YORKCITYFC wrote:We made a £400k LOSS last season. And on normal operating budgets we'll be making a loss this season too.
One other point, the board know we are in for a financial windfall from the trophy. So why not, after we beat Telford, which was before the loan deadline, why didn't we go out and sign a midfielder and striker better than what we have to help secure survival with some of the money? They also knew the ban for Brodie was inevitable.
It is as if nobody is worried about going down other than Ingham and the fans.
The "Woolford money" and the "Wembley money" are just going to plug that shortfall. There's no purse-strings to loosen, no prospect of investment.
Phil, Leeds
says...
3:27pm Sun 5 Apr 09
damm1t
says...
10:16am Wed 22 Apr 09
11:38am Fri 3 Apr 09
One for those asking about strikers. Lassana Sidibe, Mama Sidibe's brother, was supposed to play for us on trial against Leeds reserves, but opted for a ontract at Dover instead.
Very sad that we have so little draw we lose out to Dover Athletic.
While Dover are prospering now it is through astute management, we nearly went out of business a couple of years ago.
Lassana is Mama Sidibe's younger brother and the connection is with Hessenthaler who impressed Mama when he was his manager at Gillingham and recommended Lassana to come down here. Not on contract but trialling until the end of the season, he is trying very hard and playing well though.
Wish you all well for the future.
PeteN says...
9:31am Fri 3 Apr 09
Hope and pray all goes well with your daughter. Bill Shankly was wrong, there are more important things that football. Been wondering why we haven't heard much of you. Hope it's sorted in time for us to enjoy your undoubted ability in BSP next season.