Agutter: “I’m Pleased To Be Building Momentum”

Chris Agutter is relishing the chance to build further momentum as Sutton prepare for another crucial home fixture in the Enterprise National League.

The U’s host Wealdstone tomorrow afternoon (3pm KO), and have the opportunity to make it two wins in a row after beating Woking on Tuesday night.

The upcoming encounter also marks another chance to continue their strong home record, and the Head Coach remains determined to turn the VBS Community Stadium into a fortress, with just one defeat at home in 90 minutes since taking charge.

“I’m pleased to be building momentum. One loss in seven, so it feels like we’re back on the right track after a difficult December. Really pleased with where the players are at, really pleased with what we’ve seen, especially in the last week.”

“We always said we want it to be a fortress for us and somewhere we can really cash in in terms of points. I think we’re getting closer to that.”

“Obviously you want to win every game at home, you want to win every game in general, but one loss in however many games at home is a positive record. We want to preserve that, build on it and improve it.”

The mood in camp has remained high following the midweek victory over Woking, as goals from Kai Jennings and Brandon Njoku set the U’s on their way to a first league win in nearly a month, but one that saw them continue a positive streak that includes just one defeat their previous seven games in all competitions.

“In the lead-up to the Woking game itself the mood had been really positive anyway. It’s only really the Boston game in recent weeks where we fell short of expectations and the standards that we’ve set.”

“In the main, bar Boston, we’ve been really good and we’ve been picking up points. Winning in that fashion, backs against the wall as well, ten men etc, in front of our home support, it adds even more emotion to the situation. That type of emotion is what you do it for and it can’t not help build what is already a very good morale amongst the group.”

Looking ahead to the visit of Wealdstone, Agutter said he expects a stern test, but one that will be a positive one for the neutral due to a clash of similar styles.

“They’re one of the best possession-based sides in the league. Really nice brand of football. From a defensive perspective they’re aggressive, front foot, they try and counter-press.”

“A nice variety as well, similar to Woking in terms of set-up and shape, but generally, regardless of the shape and set-up, the behaviours of the team are pretty consistent. They try to dominate the football and when they haven’t got it they try to get it back, as basic as that sounds. Very good from set pieces, well organised, very well coached. I think Sam [Cox] and his staff have done a brilliant job there.”

“It should be a really good game for the neutral – two teams that want the football, two teams that are stubborn in their beliefs of how they want to go about it. That could lead to a really decent encounter.”

The boss added that he believes the key battle will revolve around intensity and aggression.

“I find with teams that play similar styles it can often be who wins the battle, who wins the fight, who comes out on top in the first and second balls and in the duels.”

That’s the platform for the nicer stuff and the bits both teams want to do. Without labouring the point, we’ll continue to double down on wanting to be aggressive and combative against the ball.”

Wealdstone have notably dropped from 11th to 16th in the span of just two games, something that epitomises the closeness within the division.

With the table tightly packed, the opportunity to climb with back-to-back victories is clear, and with three successive home games on the horizon, the Sutton boss once again highlighted the importance of the supporters.

“It’s really tight, really competitive. If you can string back-to-back wins together you can jump four or five places, especially with games in hand as well.”

“That’s why we haven’t got hung up on the league table because we’ve got games in hand and other than that December period we’ve always picked up points. We know it’s an opportunity with back-to-back wins to climb and get closer to the position in the table that we want to be.”

“ I thought they [the fans] were brilliant on Tuesday night. When we went down to ten men, the energy in the place went up a level – two or three notches. So more of the same. If we get that, it gives us even more of a chance to put another three points on the board and continue to climb the table.”