Troy Deeney claims his Forest Green Rovers side “needed that” after a 0-0 draw at home to ninth-place Gillingham.
The Gloucestershire find themselves firmly in the relegation spots after holding a strong Gillingham side after 90 minutes at The New Lawn. The game was player-coach turned manager Troy Deeney’s first game in charge in Nailsworth after the sacking of David Horseman.
Horseman joined Forest Green this summer, his first appointment as Head Coach at the senior level, previously coaching Bristol City and Watford. With only four wins in the league this season, his side was firmly rooted in 23rd place, six points short of safety, eventually costing him his job.
Last night’s match was a closely fought affair between the two sides, with neither side looking like scoring to any great degree. Despite the opposition having more of the ball, Forest Green had a number of half chances to take the lead, the visiting goalkeeper Jake Turner denying them on several occasions.
The Green Army goalkeeper Luke Daniels also performed excellently to keep a clean sheet in Deeney’s first game in charge. Overall, the performance was a building block for the home side as they look to get their season back on track and towards safety.
Speaking to the media after the game for the first time as a Manager, Deeney said:
“Considering the week we had it will be good.
“There were some really strong performances in regards to effort, desire and willingness not to be beaten.”
The 35-year-old continued about the changes that had been made, explaining:
“It’s even something as simple as not calling me Troy, calling me Gaffer. That’s a big thing because it’s a change and we have to make it clear.
“We probably spent a bit more time on the training field than we needed… that played into the tiredness from 70 minutes onwards.
“I want to give them (the wide players) the license to go and score, try something. I don’t want them to be rigid.”
The ex-Watford man gave his thoughts on the match also, he claimed:
“We got after them, it wasn’t pretty at times and it could’ve been a lot better.
“We could’ve caused them a few more problems. I don’t really remember a shot where we thought they were gonna score.”
He also spoke about the impact the clean sheet will have on the players and fans, saying:
“We needed that, and I think the fans needed that. It shows the belief and desire.
“They just need to get that confidence back into them as quick as possible.”
Next time out Deeney’s side travel away to Newport County on Boxing Day, who come off the back of a 1-1 draw against Grimsby Town. No doubt the new man in charge will be hoping to get his first three points on the board for the Gloucester club.
Writer’s View
It was a huge risk to appoint such an inexperienced manager at this stage of the season, particularly when sat in 23rd place in the League.
However, if Forest Green can continue to put brave and hearty performances like that together then they will certainly have some hope of getting results and clawing themselves back out of the relegation places.
Sam writes for The Real EFL, covering all EFL tiers while pursuing a Sports Journalism degree at the University of South Wales.
