Boss wants to avoid breaking the cycle
NEEDHAM Market manager Tom Rothery is keen to avoid an unwanted tag.
Rothery’s side face Felixstowe & Walton United in the first of this season’s Endeavour Automotive Suffolk Premier Cup Semi-Finals at the GBS Stadium, home of Ipswich Wanderers FC, on Wednesday night, kick-off 7.45pm.
And after winning the competition under previous manager Kevin Horlock four times in succession, Rothery doesn’t want to be remembered as the manager who then ended that sequence and failed to retain the trophy.
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The conundrum for Rothery, who succeeded Horlock just a month ago, is that he is trying to balance keeping the club in National League North with winning the cup for an unprecedented fifth time running.
He said: “I was part of the management team that has won the competition four times in a row and also when Mark Morsley (2016-17 season) was the manager, so I know how important it is to everyone at Needham Market.
“I don’t want to be the one who breaks that cycle, but if I am being completely honest, winning the Premier Cup is not as important as staying up this season.
“Winning games creates momentum as does winning cup finals, but we are not going to risk players if they are not fully fit. Keiran Morphew didn’t travel on Saturday and we won’t be risking him on Wednesday.
“Coming through the tie without any new injuries is almost as important as the result, but if we go into it half-hearted then that could be damaging as well.”
Step 2 side Needham will be favourites to progress against opponents who play two levels lower, but Rothery said that brings added expectations with it.
“In some ways that puts more pressure on us. We played them in the final last year, and they were having a good season, and they are having an even better season this time around and could potentially win the league.
“They have good quality players like Jack Ainsley and Charlie Warren to name just two, so there is no chance that we will under-estimate them. We know we are in for a tough game, even though they are two leagues below us.
“We could get relegated this season and they could get promoted and we would then be in the same league next season, although there is a difference in quality between the league we play in and the league Felixstowe play in,” he said.
Jake Dye, who has been nursing an injury, will be assessed and could be on the bench, but neither Teddy Collis, who scored his first goal for the club on Saturday, nor Jake Watkiss are eligible to play.
Dan Morphew of Needham Market (red shirt) is pictured tackling a Spennymoor Town (black & white striped shirts) opponent back in October as team-mate Ben Hunter looks on.
