Cheltenham Town boss Wade Elliott assesses this weekends test against Derby County, as well as discussing the Robins progression as a club
This weekend sees Cheltenham Town welcome Derby County to the Completely-Suzuki Stadium, in the two clubs first competitive meeting in history.
Town’s new signing Will Goodwin looks set to feature in the fixture, after impressing boss Wade Elliott in Tuesday’s Papa John’s Trophy fixture.
Elliott is expecting a tough match on Saturday.
“They’re in a really good run of form, 16 games unbeaten.”
“When you look at their squad, it’s certainly not a League One squad. I went to watch them at Accrington Stanley, and they were outstanding, I don’t think anyone would disagree at Accrington Stanley that they blew them away.”
“The score was 4-0, but they could have easily been out of sight within the first 25-30 minutes.”
“It’s a decent recipe, isn’t it? Big club, decent squad, and a manager that knows how to get them out of this league. When you toll that up, it’s going to be a big test.”
The first meeting of these two clubs in the league highlights the progress that Cheltenham have made, especially in the last decade.
“I think we’ve got to enjoy it. Six years ago, this football club were playing Boreham Wood and Dover. No disrespect to them but our next two home games are Derby County and Sheffield Wednesday.
“The transition this football club has been under in the last six years has been phenomenal. We’ve got to enjoy playing these teams, we’ve never played Derby County in a competitive game, so enjoy it.”
“We’ve had some big clubs come to our place, Sunderland’s, Ipswich’s, Bolton’s, and we’ve had some really good times against them, so don’t take it for granted but we’ve got to enjoy them.”
Going into the fixture, Town are looking to bounce back from two straight league losses to Bristol Rovers and Morecambe, and are without any new injury worries, as Wade Elliott confirms Lewis Freestone will be out for around three months due to a meniscus tear he sustained in the Bristol Rovers fixture.
