Following the postponement of this afternoon’s scheduled Sky Bet League Two fixture at Salford City, Wanderers Manager Ian Evatt spoke to bwfc.co.uk to discuss the decision the officials made to stop the fixture from going ahead due to a waterlogged playing surface.
Evatt said: “It is frustrating. We all wanted the game on but I think everyone could see with their own eyes that the pitch wasn’t playable. We’re just in the lap of the gods with the weather at the minute, but when the ball isn’t bouncing or rolling and it’s a team like us in our case that wants to play football – it’s just going to turn the game into a lottery. That’s something we couldn’t do, especially with more rain forecast. I think the referee has made the right call.”
The Wanderers boss believes the impending fixture congestion in the coming weeks and months will likely be the same for the majority of teams in the division and he spoke about being better equipped to deal with that with a bolstered squad.
“I think the fixture congestion is going to be the same for everybody to be honest. The benefit that we now have is that we’ve got a bigger and more competitive squad, so hopefully we can cope with it. It’s not ideal and we’re jumping back on the coach and back to Lostock to train.”
The squad headed back up the M61 following the postponement to use the time to train and Evatt spoke about the potential benefits of an extra session with four new players in the building and a fixture on the horizon against Morecambe.
“It does give us a bit more prep for Tuesday night – absolutely. We can have a good look at the lads on the training pitch today and get some more minutes into the new lads’ legs. We can work on our patterns of plays so the lads can get used to us a bit more. It’s an advantage in that way, but as I said the games are piling up thick and fast and it’s not ideal.
“The new lads had had two days training, so this obviously gives as an added advantage in terms of being able to spend more time with them, working on the training ground to make sure they know exactly what I expect and make sure there are no grey areas.”
A new date for our away fixture at Salford City will be revealed in due course.