Western Daily Press (Saturday)
Wellens is on red alert over striker Norwood
RICHIE Wellens is well aware of the threat Tranmere Rovers and their main striker James Norwood pose to his Swindon Town side.
The Robins travel to Prenton Park to face a Tranmere side spearheaded by former Forest Green front man Norwood, who has 19 goals to his credit so far this season.
Wellens believes the Merseysiders have maintained the momentum from their promotion from the National League last season and that Norwood is a key part of that.
“They were obviously one of the biggest clubs in the Conference, and they’ve taken that momentum when they’ve come up to carry on,” the Swindon boss told the official club website. “I know Micky (Mellon, manager) really well and they’ve got someone in their team who’s scored 19 goals this season – so it’s quite evident where the threat is going to come from.
“Norwood is a striker in form, takes every opportunity to shoot, doesn’t complicate things. He’s not prepared to wait for the perfect opportunity to score – he’s happy to shoot through bodies, so he scores a lot of different kinds of goals.
“They’re quite solid, but it’s up to us to try to keep on building on what we’ve been doing, keep our intensity levels up, be defensively strong, but also take the game to them.”
Elsewhere, young Cheltenham Town forward George Lloyd has returned to Hereford FC on loan until the end of the season. The 18-year-old spent three months at the National League North club earlier in the campaign.
He returned to his parent club and has been among the substitutes for the last three matches, but boss Michael Duff is keen for him to continue to build his experience and he will be in Hereford’s squad for their home match against Nuneaton.
Lloyd, who is from Gloucester, started two first-team matches for Cheltenham earlier on this term, including the win at Northampton.
He netted twice in three starts towards the end of last season, underling his potential with goals at Cambridge and Crewe.
Cheltenham play Carlisle away this afternoon with the Cumbrians well-placed for a promotion push in sixth position, while the Robins are only five points above the drop zone despite their improvement under manager Duff.
Forest Green currently occupy the final play-off place in League Two, and their promotion credentials will be tested today when second-placed Bury are the visitors to the New Lawn.
The Shakers are five points better off than Forest Green, although the Gloucestershire side have two games in hand.
Yeovil, meanwhile, have a home game against bottom-of-the-table side Notts County.