Wright keen to help Gulls go one step further

DANNY Wright says there will be some friendly competition between him and Dan Holman to lead the goalscoring charts this season with the pair back together again at Torquay United this season.

Wright scored 11 goals in 22 games for the Gulls last season, while having two spells on the sidelines because of injuries. Had he been around for all the games, it is highlylikely that Torquay would be playing in the Football League this season.

But, as it turned out, there was a slump while he was out and that heartbreaking penalty shoot-out defeat against Hartlepool United at Ashton Gate in the National League play-off final - and so, after losing their first game 3-1 against Altrincham at home on Saturday, the Gulls go to Notts County on Saturday, and host Woking on Bank Holiday Monday.

Wright, 36, is determined to help Torquay go one step further this season, and says he will enjoy playing with Holman, 31, who he had a good spell with at Cheltenham Town when manager Gary Johnson guided them to the National League title in 2016.

There were flashes of that partnership in the game against Altrincham, but early mistakes cost the Gulls with the team 2-0 down and on the back foot by the 19th minute.

“We had a great season at Cheltenham when we got promoted from this league,” said Wright. “We really worked well together.

“Dan was in Dubai in the summer and it was just a case of seeing how he came back from that really. But he looked sharp and has scored goals, which is what he is about.

“We know each other’s games and we know if we can get it going we can score a fair few goals this season to get us to the top of the league.

“When I heard he was coming on trial and when I saw him it definitely put a smile on my face. It was great to see him again and it is exciting to see what we can achieve this season.

“Competition for places is great, no matter who it is, and you always strive to be the best I guess. It’s important I think to have competition in the squad - it gets the best out of players, and it keeps people alert and focussed. So, yeah, let’s see what we can achieve.”

There could be two familiar faces at Notts County side on Saturday with Kyle Cameron and Aaron Nemane having moved to Meadow Lane in the summer. Cameron has been named the new captain there though Nemane didn’t feature in their first-day 5-0 win at Barnet.

Torquay beat County in the semifinals of the play-offs last season, but Ian Burchnall’s side are above Torquay in all of the bookmakers’ lists of title candidates this time around - and it will be a tough game for the Gulls to bounce back from that opening-day defeat.

“When the fixtures come out you have to play them all anyway,” said Gulls manager Johnson. “It is one that you can look forward to because I always enjoy the big games. There will be a good crowd at Nottingham and we have got to make sure the boys are looking forward to it.

“It does show you where you are and it gives you an opportunity against one of the favourites, if you like, to put your game on them and hope that they don’t particularly put their game on you.”