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BBC News
02-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Dodds looks for Wycombe upturn before play-offs
Wycombe boss Mike Dodds has challenged his side to set a high performance level to carry them into the play-offs after missing out on automatic promotion from League Chairboys spent much of the season in the top two, heading the table for several weeks, but will have to do it the hard way if they are to regain the Championship status they lost in 2021. They were second, five points clear of Wrexham, when Dodds was appointed following Matt Bloomfield's departure to Luton Town. But they have only won seven of his 17 games in charge and have slipped to fourth in the table, below Saturday's opponents, third-placed Stockport County, on goal difference."We're fully focused on what we need to do. The game on Saturday is a really tough game but beyond Saturday, there's a bigger picture in terms of the next couple of weeks," Dodds told BBC Three Counties Radio."We've got to make sure we understand that we're a really good team at this level and any of those other three teams won't want to be playing Wycombe, that's for sure."Any result other than a defeat would see Wycombe set a new club points record total since they joined the English Football League in 1994. Should the game end in a draw, both teams could be joined on 85 points by Charlton Athletic, who are at home to Burton Albion, but the south London club's goal difference is inferior. Wycombe won five games out of seven from 18 March, losing only one, but have been beaten by Charlton Athletic and Leyton Orient in the last said the 4-0 home defeat by Charlton felt like a "kick in the abdomen" and the performance at Orient was not good enough he believes that momentum leading into the play-offs is not an infallible guide to potential success."My experience of the play-offs is they're so emotional, there's so much riding on the games, people look at form, look at data, they look at all sorts of things," added the former Sunderland coach."There are counter arguments either way. There'll be the teams that have gone into the play-offs (in the past) on the back of winning five, six, seven, eight games and not got promoted and there'll be history of teams that have not had that form and got promoted."They're a completely unique set of circumstances in terms of going into what is effectively a knockout competition over two legs." On the potential points record, he added: "87 is a huge number for the club and something everybody associated should be proud of. The result will be the result, but what I want to see is a much better performance."
BBC News
23-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
'Courage and composure' crucial
Port Vale boss Darren Moore has called on his players to keep cool heads ahead of the final two matches of the season as they aim to seal promotion to League Valiants currently sit second in League Two and will clinch an immediate return to the third tier as early as Saturday if they win at AFC Wimbledon and fourth-placed Walsall fail to beat Accrington Stanley."The words that you'd use for the team are courage and composure," Moore told BBC Radio Stoke."I think those two [words] will be evident over the next couple of games, but we've got a great trust in this group - they are a joy to work with."And it is the club's trust in Moore, who was retained as the club's manager following last season's relegation, which looks set to be repaid with an instant return to League the former West Brom and Sheffield Wednesday boss is not leaving anything up to chance."If you look at this season, it's the most contested League Two for many seasons," he added."It looks likely it will go down to the last game [of the season], so credit to everyone. What we're doing at Vale here is focussing on us."Monday's last-gasp draw at home against Grimsby has kept Moore's men on course for promotion, and after the match, the 50-year-old confirmed club captain Ben Garrity has been ruled out of the final run-in through injury."He's ran his race for this season," Moore said after Garrity limped off in the 77th minute of Vale's 3-2 defeat at Carlisle United on Good Friday."So, we thank him for his efforts on the pitch, but now he'll support the team from off the field, where he'll continue his captain's role."
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Cambridge fighting to stay 'in the mix'
Cambridge United boss Neil Harris has urged his players to ensure they are "in the mix" beyond the Easter weekend as they fight to avoid relegation from League U's take on Huddersfield Town in West Yorkshire on Friday and are seven points from safety with just four games left to have won three and drawn three of 11 games since Harris returned to the club for a second spell in charge in February, when they were bottom of the table."I've said all along that I want us to give ourselves a fighting chance and make sure we're in the mix as long as possible in the division," he told BBC Radio Cambridgeshire."It's imperative that we try and pick points up over the Easter period, they are two challenging fixtures in Huddersfield away and Leyton Orient at home, but two games that need absolutely no motivation whatsoever from me to my players. Cambridge - who last played in League Two in 2021 - could be relegated on Friday is they lose to Huddersfield and either Burton Albion or Bristol Rovers win."It's an opportunity for us to go up against another team who are huge in the division and put them on the back foot, that's the plan and then come back (home) to Orient (on Monday) and hopefully we'll find ourselves in a position where we're fighting and scrapping, and we want to win games at the Abbey," Harris added."Turnaround time is fast between, same as Saturday-Tuesday and we'll prepare accordingly. We'll have to get the balance (right) over the weekend between recovery and preparation time."The lads who don't start in the game on Friday will have the opportunity to train Saturday/Sunday and prepare properly for Monday."Following the Easter fixtures, Cambridge are away to Burton on 26 April before the daunting task of taking on champions Birmingham City on their home ground seven days said changes were ongoing to the playing side of the club's operations since he and another former boss, Mark Bonner, now director of football, were appointed."We know there's a lot more change to come but at the moment we're showing development and sometimes you have to take a step backwards to be able to take a step forward in life, and certainly in football," he added.
BBC News
17-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Caldwell targets top-half finish for Exeter City
Exeter City manager Gary Caldwell says his side are capable of a top-half finish in League Grecians have lost just two of their past 11 games - to second-placed Wrexham and fourth-placed Stockport County - and are 15th in League One, three points off 12th-placed Lincoln City. They face relegation-threatened Burton Albion and Crawley Town over the Easter period before ending the season against Huddersfield Town and Mansfield Town. "I think it can be done. It can be done and that's the most important thing," Caldwell told BBC Radio Devon about a top-half finish. "That's what we're focusing on, we want to try and win every single game."I think we have four different games, the first one being the toughest by far in my opinion, but we have four games and we want to try and win every one, and to finish in that top half would be an incredible achievement."Caldwell's side are 10 points clear of the relegation places and are set for a fourth-successive season in League will be the first time the club has achieved such a feat under fan ownership - they last spent four consecutive seasons in the third tier in the early 1990s."I think you always want to be in a position of control and controlling your own destiny," added Caldwell. "This year, fortunately, we've never been down in that bottom four, last year I think we had one week in it."I think that's great credit to a club that our budget is in that bottom four every year and to only have spent one week in it in the last two seasons shows the progress we're making as a club and shows the progress we're making as a team."So I'd always liked to be that team that is in control and looking higher up the table than worrying what's below."
BBC News
19-03-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Crawley part company with manager Elliot
Crawley Town have parted company with manager Rob Elliot with the club 12 points adrift of safety in League former Gateshead manager, 38, took over at Broadfield Stadium in October after Scott Lindsey left to go to League Two MK Dons. More to follow.
