Sheridan’s warning
Date published: 27 October 2008
HEAD BOWED, Craig Davies leaves the field after Athletic’s defeat at Swindon Town.
JOHN SHERIDAN is threatening a cull of under-achieving players when Athletic bid to topple Scunthorpe United tomorrow.
Sheridan is keen to get Saturday’s defeat at Swindon out of his system and, with the League One leaders coming to Boundary Park, he could face the challenge with a much-altered side.
The manager (pictured) warned: “I’ve got players who think they will be picked every week, but nobody has a right to be in the team.
“Our performance was nowhere near good enough (against Swindon) and I’ve got other people in my squad who are desperate to play games.
“The ones who think they will always get picked could be in for a shock because I’ll make it clear to them that it’s never going to be the case.
“They are not automatic choices and they need a reality check. They are in a comfort zone and, as a team, we are not picking up the points we should be.
“I can change things anywhere on Tuesday night because we need to hold the ball up better, defend when we need to defend and sort things out.
“I don’t want to feel as angry with my team again. I’ve got players like Kelvin Lomax, Lewis Alessandra, Deane Smalley, Kevin Maher and maybe one or two others, so I’ll sort things out and get it right.”
Sheridan recalled the right-sided duo of Neal Eardley and Andy Liddell on Saturday, but he felt Athletic’s display was their worst of the season.
Tomorrow’s opponents Scunthorpe are top of the table by three points after their victory over Millwall.
Meanwhile, Athletic will play Cheltenham Town away in the FA Cup first round on Saturday, November 8.
They have already beaten Cheltenham 4-0 in League One this season, but the Robins have since had a change of manager, with Martin Allen taking over from Keith Downing.
It will be the clubs’ third FA Cup meeting in eight seasons. Both previous games ended in 2-1 wins for Cheltenham.
