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Fletch wary of wounded Gulls' plight

From the Echo, first published Tuesday 29th Oct 2002.

STEVE Fletcher has warned his Cherries team-mates to be wary of a backlash on the English Riviera.

Fletcher is in line to make his 350th league appearance when Cherries meet Division Three rivals Torquay United at Plainmoor tonight (7.45pm kick-off).

The Gulls were written off as relegation fodder at the start of the season, but have been one of the surprise packages and are currently flying high in sixth place.

But Leroy Rosenior's side have been rocked after conceding no fewer than 13 goals in their last three league and cup games - including eight in their last two in front of their own fans.

A 5-1 drubbing at Scunthorpe on Saturday was preceded by a heavy 4-0 home defeat against Wycombe in the LDV Vans Trophy and a 4-1 reverse at the hands of Hull 10 days ago.

Fletcher, who celebrated his first league start for more than 11 months by netting Cherries' late winner against York on Saturday, said: "There is no doubt Torquay's professional pride will be hurting at the moment.

"They will be trying even harder to keep a clean sheet and after conceding 13 goals in three games, the one thing they will have been working on in training is defensive duties.

"It would be nice to think we can go there and have a rout, but they will be on their guard and very difficult to break down. Maybe it will be one of those games when we have to grind out a result because they will sit behind the ball.

"I know from my experiences at Bournemouth that whenever we have gone through a bad spell, all we have worked on in training is defending. I know it's a cliché, but if you don't concede, you are guaranteed to get some points on the board.

"It's got to turn around sometime for them, but you just hope it's not against us. They wouldn't be near the top of the league if they had been conceding goals week in, week out. Every team goes through a sticky patch in a season and we have got to make sure we don't concede because we know we are capable of scoring nine times out of 10."

Cherries boss Sean O'Driscoll is likely to make a late decision on whether or not Fletcher will start against the Gulls as he continues his comeback after recovering from a career-threatening knee injury. The 30-year-old's appearance against York was his first full game since May 2001.

Fletcher said: "I haven't had a breather since I got back and it all depends on how my knee reacts. If I feel fine, I'll be honest with Sean and leave it up to him.

"It's pointless me saying I'm fit when I'm not because I would be jeopardising my career and also the team's performance and I'm not going to do either for the sake of one game."

Fletcher, who played 32 league games for Hartlepool before moving to Dean Court for £30,000 in August 1992, has made 317 league appearances for Cherries and is currently sixth in the club's list of record appearance-makers.

The popular Teessider added: "We are looking to catch Hartlepool and put daylight between ourselves and the chasing pack.

"I think everybody believes Hartlepool are going to stay up there and we've got to make it a two-horse race because we want to be champions."

Cherries are expected to be unchanged, although Neil Young's fitness is still being monitored following his return from a long layoff last season and a late decision will also be made on him.

The Gulls, who are skippered by former Cherries loan defender David Woozley, are sweating on the fitness of goalkeeper Kevin Dearden and midfielder Alex Russell.

Dearden has missed their last two games due to a thigh injury which has seriously hampered his kicking, although in his absence Jamie Attwell has shipped nine goals.

David Graham, who netted a stunning goal to help the Gulls put Cherries out of the Worthington Cup last season, is the second highest scorer in Division Three with nine.

Cherries' last league visit to Plainmoor ended in a 1-0 defeat in November 1991, while goals from Tommy Heffernan and Phil Brignull earned them a 2-1 win in Devon en route to clinching promotion from the old Division Four in 1982.

Cherries: (from) Moss, Young, Purches, Broadhurst, Browning, C Fletcher, Stock, Elliott, Hayter, Thomas, S Fletcher, O'Connor, Ridgewell, Narada, Foyewa, Feeney, Bloomfield, Tardif, Stewart.

Torquay United: (from) Dearden, Attwell, Canoville, Hazell, Woozley, Holmes, Bedeau, Fowler, Hockley, Hill, Graham, Gritton, Russell, Douglin, Brown, Osei-Kuffour, Prince, Ashington.

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