Head Coach Adrian Heath
On the match versus Forward Madison…
“I think throughout my career, I’ve had some great memories of Cup competitions, League Cup Finals, FA Cup Finals. We’ve done particularly well in this competition. Last time we entered it, we got to the final. As a USL team, when we were in Orlando, we did very well. I always treat the Cup competitions with the respect I think they deserve. I think it’s the oldest Cup competition in America. We’ll go there and we’ll have a mixed team, but we’ll have a team that we expect to win the game.”
On playing and comparing the two matches of the week…
“It obviously is not ideal, but it is the same for everybody. Everybody is going to go through it this week with the US Open Cup. We’ll have a mixed team. We’ll take most of the first team with us and hopefully, we’ll be able to get some minutes into some who we think need it. If some of the guys who played last Saturday aren’t needed, then we won’t put them on. Certainly, I’m treating the game in Madison with the respect that they deserve. They’re professional players, professional coaches, it’ll be a really good environment. Everybody tells me it’s a really good, little atmosphere there so I’m looking forward to it.”
On reminding the team of the importance of the match versus Madison…
“The one thing I do know is that if we don’t treat the opposition with the respect that they deserve, and think that we will just go and cruise through a nice game of football, then it will not be an enjoyable evening for us. I’ve already told the players that. As a USL team, as I said, we managed to get to the quarters [quarterfinals] and beat three or four MLS teams along the way, over a couple of year period, and it was all because our attitude was better on the night. We had a decent team. These are professional people, they’re getting paid to play football. They’ve got coaches who are trying to make a name for themselves. I know this is going to be a big scalp for them if they can get a result. We have to be mindful of that.”
On the players looking to make an impression and get minutes with the first team…
“Well I always say, whenever you play football, it’s a chance and an opportunity to impress people. The important thing is, for them guys now, with the reserve team, some of them got some minutes at the weekend. We can maybe get another 45-50 minutes into some on Wednesday and that will help them if they need it at the weekend. I think that’s all this is about. Getting the right group and the right blend. We have people who need minutes for different reasons and people, who hopefully, don’t need to put more minutes into them and we can concentrate then at the game at the weekend.”
