Chris Agutter is relishing a return to home action as his side prepare to face Truro City at the VBS Community Stadium.
After a demanding run of away games across the last couple of weeks, the U’s head into the game on the back of strong form and a full week on the training ground, having secured a solid 1-1 draw at Gateshead last time out.
“Really looking forward to being back at home,” Agutter said.
“We’re looking forward to welcoming Truro, looking forward to another tough test and hopefully putting three more points on the board.
“It’s been a really good week. Off the back of a strong run of form, it’s nice to have that time on the training pitch rather than trying to react quickly after a poor result.”
The boss highlighted the value of finally having consecutive training days following a hectic schedule, though, despite the heavy travel demands in recent weeks, he praised both players and staff for how they have handled the workload.
With a rare free week – a first since January – the focus has been less on physical recovery and more on preparation.
“It feels like we haven’t had back-to-back training days for a long time,” he explained.
“We’ve taken eight points from four really tough away games – Hartlepool, Halifax, Scunthorpe and Gateshead – which works out at around two points per game.
“So it’s been a welcome shift to have the time to reflect, prepare properly and get ready for what is an incredibly important game.”
“The players have dealt with the travel incredibly well, they deserve massive credit.”
“From a club perspective the logistics and preparation have been excellent as well, so there have been no excuses not to deliver and the players have certainly done that.”
“There’s only so much you can do physically at this stage of the season. The main benefit has been having time to reflect on the Gateshead game, put that to bed and then have three or four days to prepare properly for Truro rather than a quick turnaround.”
“It’s more about having the time to come up with a plan to win the game.”
Despite Truro’s league position, Agutter is under no illusions about the challenge they will pose, with the Tinners remaining competitive in each of their outings despite being unable to pick up many points in recent weeks. and expects a different type of challenge compared to recent opponents.
“It’s an incredibly competitive league,” he said.
“As we saw against Morecambe, if you take anything lightly you can come unstuck.
“They don’t get beaten heavily, they’re competitive and we saw that earlier in the season. We were 2–0 up and they came back into it – it took something special to win that game.
“So we know it’s going to be tough. This is the most important game of the season.”
“Truro will be more similar stylistically to Morecambe than Gateshead. So there are lessons we can take from that, but the Morecambe game was a bit of a perfect storm – everything seemed to go against us.”
“We’ll learn from it and make sure we’re better.”
He further stressed that his side must maintain their standards, particularly after the previous home defeat to Morecambe.
“If you play that game 100 times it doesn’t play out like that again,” he said.
“But we weren’t at it physically and didn’t run hard enough, so it was a good reminder for us.
“The reaction at Scunthorpe was excellent and now every game is the biggest game of the season. We want to put any relegation fears to bed as quickly as possible.”
With less than 100 tickets remaining, the boss said he is hoping for strong backing from the home crowd as the U’s look to continue their momentum.
“The away support has been incredible – the energy and positivity they’ve given us has been massive,” he said.
“We need that same feeling at home. When there’s that togetherness between the players and supporters it gives us the best chance of success.”
“That’s what this club is about – community, togetherness and that family feel.”
“If we can replicate that atmosphere, it gives the players a brilliant platform to perform and keep moving forward.”
