8:40am Saturday 6th March 2010
By Derek Bish
WEYMOUTH are hoping another turbulent week off the field will not spill over on to the pitch when champions-elect Newport County roll into town this afternoon (3pm).
Terras’ chairman George Rolls and manager Jerry Gill have urged supporters to show the team their backing against what is expected to be the largest visiting crowd of the season.
Although the task is great, especially after another week of off-the-field news, Gill insists the Welshmen will not overawe his charges.
He said: “Whoever we come up against is a challenge so what we will do is go and have a go at them and try to spoil their party.
“They will bring a good following, Newport always do. All we can do is enjoy it and play with a smile on our face.”
He added: “We need all the support we can get tomorrow.
“We need to take all this negativity and turn it into a positive. I want backing for the boys out on the field more than anything tomorrow.
“It’s a game for everyone to look forward to. Don’t fear it when you get top of the table coming down, have a right good go and don’t worry about the outcome.”
Chairman Rolls added: “New-port have got a budget that makes ours look silly so we’ve got to be realistic that tomorrow’s game is going to be very difficult.
“The one thing that I would appeal for is our fans to turn up because it would be embarrassing to see Newport bring more fans than us and turn it into a home game for them.
“If we can replicate the effort of Tuesday night then I’m sure we won’t be far off it come the final whistle.
“We’ve got to get stability at this football club. We don’t want new owners every five minutes or money trouble every day.
“We want to build for the future. It’s up to the people of Weymouth to show they want to watch football.”
Simon Radcliffe will miss out after being diagnosed with swine flu – the same problem that Gill and reserve team manager Dave Kiteley may have had – while Nathan Davies is not allowed to play against his parent club under terms of his loan agreement.
Martin Slocombe (ankle) is also a doubt but Pierre Joseph-Dubois (hamstring) and Luke Benbow, who was unable to travel to Tuesday’s match with Staines, are both in line for a return.
Terras (from): Sandercombe, Harris, Mawer, Brice, Dixon, Groves, McGuin-ness, Reed, Reid, Llewellyn, Joseph-Dubois, Benbow, Byfield, Frampton, Vincent, Reiffer, Foster, Richardson, Slocombe.
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