Image: Buckland Athletic Reserves in DFL action at home to Plympton Athletic. Bucks won 2-1. (c)MiraclePR
Buckland Athletic Reserves against Newtown is one of the plum ties of the First Round of the McDonalds League Cup with SDFL double-winning Bucks inviting East Devon Senior Cup holders Newtown to Homers Heath on Saturday.
Both sides are in winning form at the moment with Newtown leading the North & East Division and Buckland looking strong in fourth place in the South & East.
The encounter should be a fine one for the neutral and we caught up with Buckland manager Marc Revell after his side’s recent win against Plympton Athletic to ask him for his thoughts on the game and his side’s start to the season so far.
“I went to watch Newtown the other night at Liverton and they look good,” admitted Revell. “They look like they’ve got experienced forwards and they play football. They picked Liverton apart and, without meaning any disrespect, the result was a little generous on Liverton.
“I’ll try and get my lads to be wise to the fact that, playing against an older bunch, they will be a bit more experienced.”
I said to the lads if teams outwork you it doesn’t matter how good you are you won’t win football matches.
Revell worked alongside Neil Snell as Buckland led from the front in the SDFL last season, fighting off late challenges from Kingsteignton Athletic and Chudleigh Athletic to claim the league title before beating the Rams in the Herald Cup final. Snell stepped down from his role in the summer and handed the reigns to Revell.
“I love the guy; he’s brilliant,” said Revell. “I had to respect the fact that he wanted to step down and have a bit of time out but I’ve said to him, when you’re ready and want some time, I could always do with an assistant, I’m happy to do reverse roles and get him back involved.
“I’ve learnt from managing with Neil that the lads like a bit of geeing up but they’re also a listening bunch,” he continued. “We’ve got a good bunch of old and young so they’re willing to learn and listen to what you say. That’s why me and Neil worked so well together because I’m a tactical person, I go in with the stats and experience angle, whereas Neil shoots from the hip and wears his heart on his sleeve.”
That doesn’t mean that Revell is unwilling to let his players know when he expects more and his side escaped a roasting when Dan Rankin fired home a late winner in a recent game against Plympton.
“It was frustrating,” admitted Revell. “It should have been buried by half-time; it wasn’t. I said to them at half time, if they stay in this they will get a chance or two against you. You can have 30 chances against a team and if you’ve only scored one goal you’re at risk of getting a draw. Then they equalised after us having loads of pressure. Then Ranks (Dan Rankin) popped up with an unbelievable goal. I told him at half-time to stop hitting it with his right because he’s useless on his right and then he’s done that!
“I was ready to give them a rollicking in there at one all but the complexion of my post-match conversation changed after winning,” Revell said with a wry smile. “A win’s a win at the end of the day so I’ll give them a bit of a respite. It definitely shows character and that’s what I’ve asked of them all.
“We drew with Waldon and with Totnes and I was starting to question some of the lads’ character and fight so it was a good little bit of a response from them and I can’t moan too much; it’s amateur football at the end of the day.
I want to stick with the philosophy of bringing the youngsters through.
“It’s been a frustrating start to the season: three wins, two draws and one defeat.
“I told the lads this league would be competitive despite the fact that some of the teams that have come up into our league are from levels below. If you don’t put in effort against the teams that have probably got less quality but do put in that work and effort you won’t beat them. That’s no disrespect to your Roselands, when we lost here, and Totnes.
“People don’t get many chances to play on pitches like this. It’s hard to accept but I said to the lads if teams outwork you it doesn’t matter how good you are you won’t win football matches. I know with three wins (now four wins after Saturday’s victory at Paignton Villa), two draws and a defeat, I’m probably looking at it slightly more negatively than the league table suggests but that’s because my standards are high.”
Finally, I asked Revell about his plans and Buckland’s prospects for the rest of the season.
“Being the middle team in this club, I want to stick with the philosophy of bringing the youngsters through,” he said. “We’ve got four or five 16 and 17 year-olds in the squad now. I don’t want to bring others in and shut their chances out. We’ve brought one or two in but that’s only to give us some depth.
“It’s going to be a physical season with midweek games down in Plymouth or wherever it might be but I always aim for top six and I hope to surprise myself and the league with a bit more than that.”