Cheltenham Town boss Michael Duff waxed lyrical about 20-year-old George Lloyd following his first league goal of the season.
Lloyd scored the second goal in a 2-0 win over Southend on Saturday, and Duff now believes he’s put himself into a position where he can’t be dropped.
Cheltenham host Scunthorpe United on Tuesday night with the Robins gunning for top spot in League Two.
“Lloydy’s come into the team and got himself into a position where he can’t get left out due to his performances and his goal,” said Duff, “We need to have competition for places so that if we have a few injuries we aren’t left scratching our heads.”
The Gloucester-born striker is keeping forwards Ruben Reid, Alex Addai and Alfie May out of the side with his performances. The only mark against him so far this season was that final product, however a goal against Southend has silenced any doubters.
“He needed a goal, there’s no getting away from that. He’s been at the heart of a lot of the good things we’ve done but ultimately centre-forwards are judged on their goals. You would have other forwards looking around if he went six, seven or even eight games without a goal.”
It’s a busy week for the Cheltenham camp, with the fixtures coming thick and fast, whilst next weekend poses the threat of Mansfield Town. With a lack of downtime in the middle, Duff stressed the importance of keeping the momentum:
“It’s par for the course at the minute, it’s difficult because you’re trying to watch games, two or three ahead. So we already have an idea of the weekend even though we’ve got a game tomorrow.”
“We will pick the bones out of Saturday’s game and what we think we were good at and not. It’s ‘recovery play, recovery play’, there’s not a lot of time for training at the minute. It’s always a lot easier to go again when you’ve come off the back of a good result.”
Ellis Chapman became Michael Duff’s 10th signing of the transfer window, with the 19-year-old joining up with the squad this week.
“The group has grown in numbers and quality,” said Duff, “Ellis Chapman came up and we weren’t expecting him to be available but he came up. He’s a good player and I’m sure he will prove that in time.
“We want him up to speed with the rest of the group so we’ll decide when he’s ready to be thrown in.”
As for outgoings, Tahvon Campbell could be on his way out with his path into the first team blocked due to such a strong squad:
“We’ve had a conversation with Tahv, he knows our thoughts and what we think he needs to do. I think he needs a run of games but it’s up to him what he wants to do with that.”
