High spirits for a double header at Plainmoor

After a brilliant Bank Holiday that brought Torquay United maximum points against Dorking Wanderers and Chesham United, the Gulls head into another double-header in the National League South.

Following the weekend visit of Aveley, it is Chippenham Town at Plainmoor on Tuesday, and United boss Paul Wotton is understandably enjoying a strong start to the campaign that has yielded four wins from five outings.

However, despite the positive vibes at TQ1, Wotton has enough experience to know this is just the first lap in a nine-month marathon and Aveley, who have stuttered to one point from their opening five games, demonstrated with their amazing play-off run last season that they will be a major threat on Saturday afternoon.

“The players are in a good place, spirits are high, as you would expect after two wins,” said Wotton. “There has been fatigue and quite a bit of recovery, so Thursday was the first day to get them back into proper training.

“We love playing at Plainmoor and we’ll hopefully get two really good crowds. We obviously take each game as it comes and after the Welling game next Saturday, everyone can evaluate where they are and what the start has been like for them.

“It’s been a relentless start in a relentless season but if you’re looking further ahead than the next game, you’re asking for trouble. We have to concentrate on ourselves and we have a lot to work on because, whether you’re top or bottom, I don’t think anybody should pay too much attention to the league table in August.

“We’re very appreciative of the support, it’s a huge motivation for us and when the crowd are up, you get an extra yard out of the players. I’ve said many times, it is up to us to keep the crowd going and to get them signing and cheering.

“Aveley is a tough game and, in my opinion, Danny Scopes was manager of the year last season. To get Aveley in the play-offs was a phenomenal achievement and his teams are very hardworking and very organised.

“We know we are in for a tough game, they’ve got a striker I really like in Charlie Hughes, they’ve got pace out wide and, as with every game, it will be tough.”