Paul confirms that young forward will travel to Dagenham
Following an impressive performance from the bench against Wycombe Wanderers on Tuesday, Paul Tisdale has confirmed that Matt Jay will retain a place in the matchday squad for the trip to Dagenham & Redbridge.
The 17-year-old will be part of the 18-man squad at Victoria Road, having himself into the manager’s thinking and with the absence of John O’Flynn (hamstring) and Jamie Reid (international duty).
“John O’Flynn is not fit; we think he will be fit for next week at Northampton but not this week,” said Tis. “Jamie Reid is away with Northern Ireland, so we’ve got Sam Parkin and Alan Gow who will have to be supplemented.
“Alan and Sam are playing very well and hopefully they will be able to give 90 minutes. Last weekend [against York] was one of the best performances that Alan has made for us in a long time and it was made off the back of doing the simple things and working himself into the game. It wasn’t as flamboyant as some people expect of him, but it was a very effective performance with two very good goals.
“Matt Jay will be in the squad. The simple things are sometimes very difficult to do – reading the game, moving into the right position, retaining the ball, giving the pass at the right time and in the right place. His standard play was very good on Tuesday – he’s one for the future but he’s good enough to be in the group.
“There is room for another attacking player – he scored a hat-trick for the youth team last Saturday, so I’m not afraid to play them when they’re good enough. I’m not taking a gamble on a personality or character or attitude; I know it’s all first-class. He has earned his current situation and selection in the first-team.”
Paul also confirmed that he was open-minded about who to use in the right-back slot.
Paul also confirmed that he was open-minded about who to use in the right-back slot.
He continued: “Pat has played very well at right-back for the past game-and-a-half. He has looked very assured there – he’s a thinker of the game and he can largely execute what you want him to do positionally.
“I’m more than happy with him playing there again. Jordan Moore-Taylor, Scot Bennett and Aaron Dawson are all capable of playing there too. We haven’t got much continuity there at the moment, but in the six defenders that we have got in the squad we have got plenty there.”
The Daggers have only a single League 2 victory under their belt this season – coming at home against York – but Tis is wary of the dangers that they pose.
“Dagenham is always a bit of a difficult place to play – that sounds like a bit of a cliché, but it is. It feels different when you play there – the game is always quick and ball is always bouncing about.
“They have had a mixed start to the season and I would imagine they will be very motivated to win. It’ll be a game where we have to earn a victory, that’s for sure.”