The result may seem a foregone conclusion as the lowly Shots travel to Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday afternoon, but although the second place side are riding high in their bid to return to League One at the first attempt, there is little between the two clubs in the current form chart, with The Shots having drawn six and lost one of their last seven while Gary Waddock has seen his side win twice, draw once and suffer four defeats – hardly the form he would have been hoping for going in to the match with his former club.
The Shots enter the match in 17th place in League Two with 38 points from 33 games, while the Chairboys are riding high in 2nd with 56 points from the same amount of games.
Shots Team News
Although The Shots are struggling at the wrong end of the table this season, former boss Waddock believes that Holdsworth is at the right club to begin his League managerial career telling the media this week: ”It is a very good club because they do give young managers the chance. They have given Dean the chance and are going to benefit from his background and knowledge.
"The club always wanted to bring players through and find gems and that was always a challenge. They gave me the opportunity and I will always be grateful to them for that.
"I had a great time there and still know some people there and some of the players. The fans were a fantastic bunch and got right behind us."
The Shots have been spending the week preparing for the fixture and speaking to the Premium Shots this week, Holdsworth said: ”Wycombe aren’t on the greatest run of their season so we’ll go there with a lot of confidence following on from our draw with Gillingham, but we’re going to need our squad and need everyone to pull together.
”It’s really important that we work on the positives and not on the negatives and it’s about looking forwards now.”
The Shots will continue without Jack Randall [broken leg] while Damian Spencer [Eastbourne Borough] and Reece Connolly [Dorchester Town] both remain out on loan.
Anthony Straker is available again having returned from his month long loan spell with the Chairboys while
Shots from: Jamie Young, Mikhael Jaimez-Ruiz, Ben Herd, Simon Grand, Luke Guttridge, Anthony Straker, Darren Jones, Jamie Vincent, Anthony Charles, Ben Harding, Danny Hylton, Manny Panther, Aaron Morris, John Halls, Peter Vincenti, Clayton Fortune, Jermaine McGlashan, Wade Small, Alex Rodman, Luke Medley, Albert Jarrett and Tim Sills.
The Opposition
Gary Waddock will be looking for a quick response from his side who were comprehensively thrashed by top of the table Chesterfield on Tuesday evening and will be viewing their match against The Shots as the one that will get his sides promotion run back on track.
Speaking to the media ahead of the match, he said: ”The new manager has gone in there and they will be a hard team to beat because they have got a lot of draws. I know the club well, the fans will get right behind the team, and it will be another difficult game for us but one we are looking forward to.
”Strakes could possibly play. We couldn’t use him this weekend because Aldershot wouldn’t have allowed us to, and rightly so, but it will be nice to see him.
”If he does play hopefully he will play well but we win the game.
”He’s a good player. We had one or two indifferent results in the time he was here but it wasn’t down to him. I thought he did well for us.”
Watford loanee Rob Kiernan may not be risked having been forced off with minor injuries in both of the last two games, while former Shot Andy Sandell remains out with a knee injury. A well documented on the pitch brawl against means another former Shot, Dave Winfield misses the game through suspension.
Chairboys from: Nikki Bull, Steven Arnold, Danny Foster, Alan Bennett, Leon Johnson, Gareth Ainsworth, Kieran Murtagh, Scott Rendell, Matt Bloomfield, Kevin Betsy, Ben Strevens, Matt Ingram, Stuart Green, Jon-Paul Pittman, Lewis Montrose, Stuart Lewis, Marvin McCoy, Stuart Beavon, Scott Donnelly, Chris Westwood, Rob Kiernan, Dan Fitchett, Jesse Kewley-Graham, Ian Westlake, Matt McClure and Kadeem Harris.
- You can visit the official Wycombe Wanderers website here.
Taking Charge
Darren Drysdale will be taking charge of the match and will be assisted by Ian Rathbone and Gavin Muge. Sian Massey is the fourth official.
Weather Forecast
The BBC weather forecast for the match given as fog after early morning with cloud with highs of 4°C.
Ticket News
Tickets for the match are set at:
Adult seats: £18.
Concessions seats: £15.
Juniors (under 16’s) seats: £6.
The match is not all-ticket and supporters can pay on the turnstiles on the day.
Other News
- BBC Radio Surrey
Supporters unable to make the match can hear live coverage from the match on BBC Radio Surrey (on 104.6 fm) which is brought to you by the regular team of Gavin Denison and Aldershot Town Media Manager Steve Gibbs.
Supporters are reminded that there is no internet coverage of this match.