Lowestoft Town will rotate to cope with backlog

Lowestoft Town joint boss Ady Gallagher admits player recovery time will be key to the Blues ahead of tonight’s Ryman League Premier Division clash at home to Margate this evening, kick-off 7.45pm.

The Trawlerboys endured an energy-sapping 0-0 draw against East Thurrock on a heavy Crown Meadow pitch at the weekend and face an even tougher assignment tonight against the Kent outfit, who sprung a surprise in beating league leaders Whitehawk on Saturday.

With the Blues looking to clear a fixture backlog which has seen some of their rivals play seven more games than them, Gallagher admitted the management team will have to watch out for signs of tiredness in their players over the coming weeks.

“A few of the boys are aching,” said Gallagher, whose side suffered six consecutive postponements before Saturday’s draw. “Coming back from a long spell and playing on a heavy pitch isn’t easy.

“We will assess the whole squad and see where every player is in terms of fitness – that’s going to be important. But we’ve got players that can come in and do a job for us.

“We will be looking to the squad and seeing who is right and pick a team to win the game.”

After almost a month without a game, Lowestoft had some tired players roaming the pitch in the second half against East Thurrock, with several going down with cramp.

Chris Henderson had to be replaced although the forward is likely to be fit for tonight’s showdown. Gallagher acknowledged every member of the Blues squad will have to pull their weight in the run-in.

“Hendo (Henderson) had to come off with a bit of cramp, which was a shame because he was looking very dangerous. There’s no shame in coming off for quality players though – the reality is the players on the bench have got a big part to play. There are players in the reserves that will end up playing in the first team before the end of the season.

“We’ve got such a backlog that we are going to need all hands to the pump.”

Although Lowestoft find themselves in 10th in the table, East Thurrock’s reaction upon the final whistle provided the Blues with a reminder they are still regarded as a scalp in the division.

Gallagher knows that Margate will come to Crown Meadow and make it just as tough for them tonight.

“It’s going to be a really difficult game but we all feel a lot better having got 90 minutes under our belts,” he added. “Teams come and make it hard for us and we’re used to it now. It’s not uncommon to see teams celebrating like they have won a trophy when they have taken something off us.

“If that’s what they set out to do then good luck to them. If we were in their position then we would probably do the same. We’re obviously trying to develop the club and move on through the leagues and we will go out and play our football and entertain if we can.”