AVE IT! SCOPES IS PREM READY
Millers chief prepares to make step up
DANNY SCOPES knows Aveley need to have the grit to cope with that moment when the Isthmian Premier gives them a whack in the mouth.
The Millers certainly showed the resilience required to get back to Step 3 football after ten years away.
Scopes, who took over last November, guided the Essex outfit to glory in no small part helped by an 18game unbeaten run.
But the former Concord Rangers boss says they aren’t naive to the challenge ahead – and says they will need to be able to think on their feet.
“I watched the league closely last year, I know it from previous as well and I watched it closely when I was at Step 2 because there were a lot of players in there we were quite keen on,” Scopes told The NLP. “It throws up different challenges and teams will cause you different problems.
Principles
“You’ve got to be adaptable. You’ve got to find a way to win. Style is something we all want and ideally stick to. But we prefer to have principles. So we have our core things we know will give us a good footing for a good performance and then it’s up to us to adapt and find a solution for the team we’re playing.
“If they’re offensive and compact, you’re going to have to maybe go around them. If they’re expansive, you might be able to play through them.
“It’s identifying all three ways – over, around or through – and then having that in your style to adapt.
“It takes a lot of work to get that. It’s not always possible. But I think if you can be adaptable with a principle based approach behind it, that’s the way we will look to play.
“But, as they say in boxing, everyone has a plan until you get punched in the face. That’s when you’ve got to have resilience, determination and a bit about yourselves.
“We showed that last year in the run-in. We had a lot of pressure on us. We went on an 18-game undefeated run. Every game was more and more pressure. The boys handled that and when the going got tough, we came through. I’d like to think we can build on that.”
Helped by getting the bulk of their summer business done early and retaining the majority of the title winners, Scopes says getting that bit more out of everyone will be key.
“We felt it is right – and we feel the players are good enough to step up – to give them the opportunity for their efforts for the club,” Scopes said. “They did really well. We’ve got some boys in the group who’ve played the level before and we’ve got a good mix, we feel, of youth and experience.
“Early in the summer we identified what we needed to strengthen and we feel we’ve done that. We hope a bit of continuity will help us, especially in those early games where we don’t have to have pre-season getting our principles over to how we want to play.
“That’s the plan. But we realise we’re going into a really tough league with some tough teams, it’s going to be hard and we understand that.
Momentum
“We’ve highlighted we need to all up our game 15 per cent in all departments. Players, management and the club as well. If everyone can give that little bit extra, hopefully that can help us make the step up. It won’t be easy but hopefully it will be more doable.”
While momentum is behind them, Scopes has a level head. “That’s where we have to be realistic,” he added. “It’s ten years since the club was last in the Isthmian Prem. It’s not being defeatist or trying to underachieve, but the focus has to be to stay in the league and establish ourselves.
“Before you can talk about trying to move forward and be successful, you’ve got to establish yourself and prove you warrant being in that league. That will be our initial challenge.”