Duff expects tight affair in Gloucestershire derby

CHELTENHAM Town boss Michael Duff insists ending the club’s long wait for a victory over county rivals Forest Green Rovers in the reverse fixture earlier this season will have little bearing on this afternoon’s return clash at the New Lawn.

Duff ’s men could leapfrog their Gloucestershire neighbours with a win this afternoon.

He said: “Local rivalry, a point’s difference, and two good teams, in my opinion. (Forest Green boss) Mark Cooper is a good manager, he’s done it for years now. They came off it at the back end of last season, but the season before in the play-offs, and in and around it again now.

“The players know the task at hand and how much it means to all the supporters.

“It’s another game, keep churning them out, and the mentality of the lads has been good this week.

“Even last week and the week before, we weren’t great against Bolton, but we ground out a result and we were good against Newport, but got done by a fluke goal. The mentality has been good.”

Asked if the victory in the derby at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium took some of the pressure off Cheltenham this time around, Duff insisted: “No. There are bigger things to worry about than hoodoos and those sorts of things that people talk about.

“There is a one-point difference between us, it’s second v fourth and it’s a local rivalry, so in terms of history of what’s gone on before, I don’t think they’ll be extra motivated because we beat them at home.

“They’ll be saying the same thing. They can put four points between the clubs, while we can go above them. The League is really tight and I’d imagine it’ll be a tight game. “