After the 2-0 defeat to Lewes on Saturday, Finlay Stubbs sat down with Casuals manager Justin Fevrier to reflect on the game and assess his time in charge of the club so far...
Casuals suffered their first away defeat of the new year after a closely-fought game against an in-form Lewes side at the weekend, but despite the result Fevrier praised his side’s performance on a frustrating afternoon in Sussex.
“I thought we played really well today,” he said after the game. “I was quite proud of the boys. We mixed it with a really good Lewes team.
“On paper we were not expected to get anything from this game and I thought we matched them. We were good in duels, we had a fast start and got in behind a few times. Us changing our shape definitely threw them off and we knew it would as they have been to watch us a few times. Like I’ve said in previous interviews, people are now going to show us more respect which is what they have done.
“Sometimes it’s difficult to be positive about a defeat but we are pleased with the fact we played very well.”
Fevrier also reflected on his own performance so far as Casuals manager, three months since he took charge.
“Personally I think we have underachieved. We are actually very unhappy with what we have done. We feel like we should be out of this situation already.”
Despite the self-criticism, Fevrier reiterated that he is still confident his side will escape danger.
“We are positive we are still going to get the result we need,” he said. “Now we have got a core group of players that we can work with and maybe add one or two new players, and stick with the group we’ve got for the rest of the season. I think we will get out of this situation. I don’t think we’ll have any issues.”
During his reign so far, the club has seen a huge turnover in the number of players and when asked about the current squad, something Fevrier was happy to address.
“The boys we have brought in are young, hungry players – second chancers, I like to call them – and they are doing really well. It has changed a bit as it is evolving and will evolve over time. We just need to keep evolving with the times and focus on the games coming up as we don’t have the luxury of having a stable team, with players being taken by other clubs as well, so we have to adapt.”
Fevrier also spoke about his inclusion of young players after he gave a senior debut to 17-year-old William McDonald, who was called up from the youth section’s Under-18s squad.
“When I came in, one of the first things I was asked was my views on the young players coming through and I said I will connect the youth team with our first team – if they are good enough they will come in.
“I actually didn’t know about Will until I saw a few video clips of him and spoke to his managers [Mark Taylor and Paul Hill] at Under-18 level, and he’s been doing really well. He’s been training with the squad for a week now and he’s made his debut at the end there. It’s great for the club to see one of their own coming though and I hope more will come after that.”
Next up for Casuals is a home game under the lights as we take on Horsham on Tuesday night.
“We hope to retain the level of performance from today, I thought conditions played to our advantage as we do like to play football. Dominic di Paola’s teams are very good passing sides so we expect a very tough test on Tuesday.”
“When I came in, one of the first things I was asked was my views on the young players coming through and I said I will connect the youth team with our first team – if they are good enough they will come in.
“I actually didn’t know about Will until I saw a few video clips of him and spoke to his managers [Mark Taylor and Paul Hill] at Under-18 level, and he’s been doing really well. He’s been training with the squad for a week now and he’s made his debut at the end there. It’s great for the club to see one of their own coming though and I hope more will come after that.”
Next up for Casuals is a home game under the lights as we take on Horsham on Tuesday night.
“We hope to retain the level of performance from today, I thought conditions played to our advantage as we do like to play football. Dominic di Paola’s teams are very good passing sides so we expect a very tough test on Tuesday.”