Chris Agutter spoke with real enthusiasm about the challenge ahead and the momentum his team has been building in recent weeks, with Sutton preparing for a high-profile FA Cup Second Round tie against League Two side Shrewsbury Town.
The Head Coach highlighted the confidence within the group and the importance of taking their strong recent form into another big occasion.
“Really looking forward to the challenge, looking to continue to build momentum.”
“Obviously, the win in midweek was really positive, it meant that I think we’re nine unbeaten so we go into the game with real momentum, looking forward to the challenge of testing ourselves against League Two opposition.”
“The group’s in a good place. There’s a good energy around the place, everyone’s happy, I think the game in midweek has certainly helped as well with the wider squad so we’ve had a pretty consistent starting line-up in the league games programme.”
“What the National League Cup and the Surrey Senior Cup is able to do is to get that winning feeling amongst the whole group, which is incredibly important because on Saturday there could be – hopefully there’s not – but there could be a reason to make a substitution early on, and you want people coming onto the pitch that feel the same momentum and winning feeling that the core certainly feel.”
“Prep’s been good, build-up’s been really good, the players, as I said, seem really happy and in a good place and with the quality of player we’ve got – if they’re happy and in a good place, then the rest will tend to look after itself.”
The schedule has been intense, but Agutter explained that despite limited training time between fixtures, the energy within the squad has remained high, with the midweek win over AFC Croydon Athletic helping to keep the entire group moving in the same direction, with both senior and fringe players contributing to a winning environment.
Turning his focus to Shrewsbury Town, he discussed their style, strengths, and the kind of challenge he expects from a well-organised higher-league opponent.
“They’ve got incredibly good home form, which is, I think, the reason they are where they are in the league.”
“They’ve certainly picked up a lot of points at home, we’ve watched over the last sort of couple of days, we’ve watched a lot of games, watched them against lots of different types of opposition. They seem to be fairly consistent with how they set up and their organisation, so in terms of any curve balls, I’m not sure whether or not we’ll get one.”
“I think where they’re the higher level opposition, maybe there’s an expectation for them to just come and play their game and impress their game on us, which may make them a little bit more predictable in terms of us knowing what’s coming, but they’re good at it. They’ll put you under pressure, they get the ball forward quickly, they get numbers in the box they put a lot of deliveries in the box, so we expect a tough test, but not a test that we’re not accustomed to.”
“I’d say they’re a lot more like a majority of the National League games that we play in terms of style, obviously levels higher, but in terms of style and the challenges they’ll pose, they’re pretty consistent with what we see a majority of, as I said, National League games.”
Agutter importantly reflected on Sutton’s achievements in the FA Cup, notably the most recent run to the fifth round in 2016/17 under Paul Doswell, and he recognised the motivation that comes from attempting to add another chapter to the club’s storied cup history.
“It’s a benchmark for us and if we can get remotely close to that, we’ll be doing quite well.”
“It’s part of our motivation – can we write our name in Sutton United’s history in this competition? But we also acknowledge that we’re not really that close to to those achievements.”
“We’ve got a long way to go, but for us to get close, we need to obviously get over this next hurdle. The Farnham game was a massive hurdle, when we got through that, Telford, we had to weather a few spells in that game. I think we’ve come a long way since then, and again, Shrewsbury are just the next step but a considerable step in terms of challenge.”
Finally, he emphasised the decisive impact the supporters can have, especially at home, where their backing has consistently lifted the team through difficult spells.
“The results at home, I think is a reflection of the support that we’ve got and that we consistently get.”
“There’s been a moment in every game or spell in every game where we’ve been under the pump a little bit, so, you know, them helping us get through those moments has been incredibly important.”
“I just look forward to, again, a packed Gander Green Lane, all four sides. Loads of volume, loads of energy, loads of enthusiasm that we always get, and then it’s up to us to do them justice and deliver a level of performance they can be proud of.”
