Chris Agutter is relishing another test on the road as Sutton United travel to Boston United, with momentum beginning to build once again after an important 5-0 win over Horley Town in the Surrey Senior Cup.
The Head Coach has said that his side comes into it confident, having put a comprehensive win on the board midweek to generate a real feel-good factor, and will aim to take that into another important league game in the fight against the drop, though the focus in training has remained firmly grounded.
“I’m excited and really looking forward to the challenge. It’s a good opportunity for us to continue winning games and putting points on the board against a Boston United side who are coming off the back of a really good result.”
“It’s a big test, but we’re looking forward to the game and building on what’s been a really decent couple of weeks.”
“If I’m being honest, we’ve actually worked more in line with what we saw against Brackley.”
“We certainly didn’t produce our best performance in that game, but we still put an important point on the board. If you can keep the scoreboard ticking over when you’re short of your best, that’s a great habit to get into.”
“The focus since then has been a reaction to that game, and part of that reaction was a really good night at the office on Tuesday.”
The unbeaten run continues to grow, and Agutter reiterated his belief that the Surrey Senior Cup can once again act as a catalyst, and recent league performances have reinforced that belief, with the ten-game game unbeaten run following on from victory at Guildford City putting the proof in the pudding.
“We feel that competition can be a springboard for future success.”
“Earlier in the Senior Cup, we had a result that became a platform for a really strong unbeaten run — arguably the best spell Sutton United have had for a while. So why can’t we do that again?”
“Going into the Horley game, we were already three unbeaten, taking points off Forest Green, who for me are still the best team we’ve seen this season.”
“We followed that with a brilliant performance against Tamworth – not one for the purists, but really dogged and combative – and then ground out another result against Brackley. So the Horley result made it four unbeaten rather than being the start of something new.”
Heading into the clash with the Pilgrims, Agutter acknowledged the opportunity to close the gap on mid-table as offering motivation, but not distraction, with Boston’s recent resurgence under new manager Paul Hurst not going unnoticed.
“We know there’s an opportunity to leapfrog Boston and other teams. If results go our way and we do our job, we could move up a couple of places.”
“That said, mid-table is the bare minimum for us given the situation we walked into back in October.”
“They’re coming off the back of a brilliant late win and they’ve shown real quality recently.”
“One of the games we watched was against Boreham Wood, where Boston were excellent in the second half. They went behind but responded incredibly well and were deserved winners.”
The Head Coach went to add that he sees parallels between the two sides’ recent trajectories, with the Pilgrims overcoming play-off chasing Boreham Wood, just as Sutton competed admirably against three top seven sides.
Part of this brought acknowledgment of the impact of Boston’s managerial change, something which Sutton have already had to prepare for after Brackley Town’s Gavin Cowan departed the Saints less than 48 hours before they made the trip from Northamptonshire last week.
Hurst has of course been in the building a lot longer though, having taken over last month, and Agutter has said that preparation remains detailed and thorough in advance of the trip to Lincolnshire.
“From our perspective, we’ve done similar recently, going toe to toe with York, Southend and Forest Green.”
“We respect Boston, but we know if we do what we do well, we give anyone a game.”
“You can make more of an impact over that month-long period, but players still have default behaviours that are hard to shift quickly.”
“It’s about analysing everything and giving ourselves as clear a picture as possible so we’re prepared for whatever questions the game asks us.”
Team news is largely positive, with a more or less fully fit squad to pick from, and has brought a welcome headache in the form of some selection decisions, something which has been reinforced by a host of fringer players putting in some top class performances during the week.
“We’re pretty much full strength, which is a great position to be in.”
“There’s real competition for places and a few selection dilemmas, which is exactly what you want.”
“The team that starts will be very strong, but just as importantly, the team that finishes will be strong as well.”
“You’re only as good as your last result, we’ve been on a good run and had a great win midweek, but if we don’t back it up, it loses its meaning.”
“So it’s about taking it one game at a time and doing everything we can to win the next one.”
