4th September 2014

Manager Gary Johnson remains confident despite a tepid start to the season, claiming the League One table is to be ignored until at least 15 games in.

The Glovers currently lie in 19th position after a win, two draws and two defeats in the opening five fixtures, but Johnson isn’t paying too much attention to the league table.

“We just focus on ourselves, the league doesn’t mean anything at this stage.” said Johnson.

“The team at the top at the minute have done the most but that doesn’t mean they’ll stay there. There are very few points between top and bottom after five games. After 15 games it becomes a little bit of a problem if you’re too far adrift but at the moment two or three wins puts you back in the play-off fray.”

Mid-week defeat to Portsmouth in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy overshadowed Yeovil’s three-match unbeaten run in League One which they will be looking to extend at Bradford this Saturday.

Johnson, who led a two-and-a-half hour team meeting on Thursday, believes his squad aren’t a “million miles away” from realising their full potential.

“We’re not a million miles away from where we need to be; it’s only five games, we’d like a few more points but a few wins on the trot puts you in a decent position.

“Certainly as a team and a management team we’re not panicking, we know we’ve got some new players who haven’t quite gelled and haven’t quite brought out their best game yet but when that all comes together we have to back our judgement – which has been good over the years – that this team will reach their potential as soon as it can.”

For the trip to Bradford the Glovers are set to be boosted by the return to fitness of Joe Edwards and Jakub Sokolik who both missed Tuesday’s encounter at Huish Park through injury, whilst Simon Gillett’s knee injury which forced him off last weekend isn’t as serious as first feared.

“Joe Edwards has got a good chance because he wants to be there and Jakub will definitely be fit.

“We thought Simon’s injury would be a lot longer originally but he has bone bruising which is a lot better than if it was a cartilage problem or a tear of the cruciate, but it’s not that bad and we’re pleased he won’t be out too long.”