Forest Green Rovers boss Robbie Savage has thrown down the gauntlet in the title race, insisting that whoever finishes above York City will be crowned league champions.
Savage, who takes his title-chasers to Sutton United this afternoon, believes the title race remains wide open and insists York City are the benchmark.
“I think whoever finishes above York will win the league,” he said. “Boreham Wood are still right in it, and what Luke Garrard has done is unbelievable. Carlisle, with their facilities and Mark Hughes, should be clear – but they’re not.
“If we stay in contention through January and February, we’ll have a real chance.”
Forest Green Rovers boss Robbie Savage has urged supporters to get firmly behind his side after being handed a home FA Trophy tie against fellow National League outfit Wealdstone a week on Saturday.
Savage believes home advantage could prove decisive as Rovers look to go beyond the last sixteen. “Our home form has been terrific all season and the atmosphere has been good,” Savage said. “The South Stand being open for the Weston game made a difference to us and hopefully it’ll be open again.
“I urge the fans to get behind us because it’s a competition that, from the outset, we’ve said we want to win. We want to get to Wembley for our fans and everyone involved with the football club.
“A home draw was all we wanted. Wealdstone are a good side and we know that – they’ve already drawn with us – but the home draw was imperative and it’s one we got.”
Savage has also strengthened his squad with the capture of Welsh defender Gabe Kircough from Cymru Premier side Penybont, with the 21-year-old set to feature at Sutton this weekend.
“He’s one we’ve been monitoring,” Savage said. “The Cymru Premier does produce some great young talents. Another Penybont player is going to Newport and there are a couple of others linked with league clubs.
“We’re delighted he chose us ahead of league clubs because he sees the journey, the facilities and the training ground.”
Rovers have also added highly-rated left-sided player Elijah Morrison from Bristol City, beating off competition from several league clubs.
“Brian Tinnion and Bristol City have been brilliant with us,” Savage explained. “We went for him at the start of the summer but they weren’t going to let him out because he was around the first team.
“Now he’s not getting many minutes, they felt the timing was right. We beat off competition from clubs really close to us, which makes it another great acquisition. Two great signings, backed once again by Dale and Asif.”
However, Savage admitted his business is not finished, with possible loan exits and arrivals still being explored.
“There’s still a window for one or two to go back. We’ve currently got five loans again. James Balagizi went back and Aidan Dausch has gone back – he was brilliant for us and got the goal against Luton.
“Mark Bowen is constantly on the phone to Premier League and Championship clubs. I had conversations last night with Premier League clubs about bringing another one in. We’re always developing and always looking to improve.”
Savage also dismissed claims that Rovers are big spenders.
“I see on social media people saying we’re spending millions, which makes me laugh,” he said. “The recruitment process has been so good that the budget has probably come down by around 30%.
“The average age of the squad is now 24, and on Saturday it could be 22. That’s not intentional – it’s because they’re the right players that were available.”
Turning attention to Saturday’s league trip to Sutton, Savage stressed the importance of starting strongly.
“This is a huge game. Our mentality needs to be better than it was at Brackley,” he said. “We can’t slip up again.
“We’re in good form – one defeat in 12 or 13 games – and if we produce the form we’ve shown, I think we can win.”
The Rovers boss is also considering a tactical reshuffle.
Savage is expected to shuffle his pack this weekend: “We had 11v11 on Tuesday. We’re looking at changing formation. to get the best out of our players and it went really well. Just give me food for thought. “We’ll probably go away from the 4-2-3-1, but how adaptive we are as a management team and a group.
“We can play numerous formations with our players. So we might start with one, we might go to another one and we might finish with another one. So that’s the type of player we have that they can play in a number of positions.
“Ricardo Rees scored a brilliant goal in training. His movement was exceptional. So it might be a 4-4-2, it might be a 4-3-3, it might be a 3-5-2, who knows? But whatever happens, I expect the players to go out there, give me their all and I trust them. I trust them and they’re going to make mistakes.”
