Jones: “We’re Ready to Bounce Back”

Sutton captain Aaron Jones has said that the squad is ready to bounce back from defeat last time out, with plenty to be positive about in the camp as the U’s look to return to winning ways tomorrow against Tamworth.

“Training’s been great” he said. “Staff have really done a great job this week of preparing us for what we’re going to see tomorrow against Tamworth.”

“I think for us, obviously, we know it’s not been the best to start, so we want to go out and get three points and really sort of show everyone what we’re about. Obviously, like I said, it’s been a bit of a difficult start and we know performances haven’t been good enough, but we’re ready to bounce back and the group just need to show real belief tomorrow that we can go out and get three points.”

“I think it’s just having full belief in exactly what we’re doing and believing in ourselves as players and having that confidence. We’ve got some really good players at this football club and they should be confident, obviously results sometimes influence your confidence a levels but there’s nothing to fear and I think the players just need to go out and play with that freedom and play without fear and we’ll be on the right side of results and results will definitely start picking up.”

Sutton head into the clash with the Lambs with a full week to focus on the match, with there being no midweek game for the first time this season, and Jones commented on the positive impact this could have on the players.

“When you have a full training week it’s great because obviously we can get some volume into the legs then rather than just play recover if you’ve got a Tuesday game it makes it difficult to actually train much so yeah, the staff have been able to get some some great work into our legs, like Tuesday was a really tough session, Thursday again was was tough but more tactical and then today gone through some tactics and a bit of fun and enjoyment out on the pitch.”

“It’s been a fantastic week, we couldn’t ask for any more from the staff in terms of the resources and everything they’re giving to us um It’s now about the players actually just going out and delivering on the pitch. Obviously, we’ve got some bodies coming back as well, which has been great. Kane [Crichlow] and Dillon [De Silva] have joined us back today from international duty, which has been nice to have them back with the group, and obviously, people coming back from injuries and bits and pieces. We feel like we’re in a good place going into tomorrow, we’ve just got to go and deliver now.

Tamworth have become renowned for their style of play and their camaraderie within the dressing room playing crucial roles in their successes over the last few seasons, with the Lambs rising from the Southern League to the National League in just three seasons, and have received plaudits for their work ethic on and off the pitch.

“We know what they’re about” Jones added”. “Obviously, they’ve done really well in the league last year in terms of you know where they finished in the table considering they’ve just been promoted the season before they’ve had a half decent start again this year and they have a very distinct style of play and they know exactly where their strengths are, they know what their weaknesses are but we’ll be obviously trying to exploit their weaknesses.”

“I think it’s about us having really good energy and playing with the tempo and really moving the ball quickly, so we’ll be looking to do all those things and come out of a positive result and give the fans here at Gander Green Lane something to cheer about.”

While Tamworth did have to travel and play during the week against York City, losing 4-0 at the LNER Community Stadium, Jones insisted this wouldn’t give his side any sort of advantage, but highlighted the drive he and the squad gets from playing in front of the home crowd at the VBS Community Stadium.

“I think at this point in the season now, you’re getting towards eight to ten games, I think players are fit, and players’ bodies are prepared to play twice a week, so some people might look at it and say it’s an advantage, but for us players, we don’t really think about it. We’ve just got to go out there and do our jobs and really create those good connections on the pitch and play with real belief and freedom.”

“We want to give fans wins, that’s what fans want to come here to the stadium and see, so definitely we want to score some goals and we know we’ve probably been conceding a couple too many as well, obviously against Boreham Wood, so I want to tighten up and really start getting some points on the board. Now that’s the goal.”