On The Spot

Will Jones tackles Roy McFarland - weekly!

Every week Roy McFarland gives an exclusive weekly interview to U's Net and answers a selection of questions from supporters. We do our best to ask every question but inevitably if they have already been asked or there are a lot of questions we have to pick the best or most topical questions. Please don't give up!

This week Roy McFarland looks back on a good draw at Brentford that could have been a third successive away win but for the dubious late penalty awarded to the Bees, and an excellent win against Bristol City that lifted the Us out of the relegation zone for the first time since October. He also hints at his transfer plans, looks forward to the weekend's vital game at Scunthorpe and responds to the questions you want answered as U's Net reporter Will Jones once again puts him … "On The Spot".

We haven't had the best of luck regarding referees and I think the standard of refereeing this season, for us, has been very poor with the exception of the Premier League referees who have come down and been tremendous. The standards they have shown has been excellent. The rest of the referees have been very, very poor and I have got to state that. It is no good, in a sense, hiding behind it and not commenting on things that affect the football club. It has affected us this season, and I feel it right that I say something about it.

Q. Paul Wanless said in the 'paper after the game that those two points dropped could very well cost us our place in the second division, would you agree with that?

No, I can look back at several instances this season where we could have picked up points in games that we have had decisions go against us. It is wrong to pick one particular game and one particular incident that could affect our season. I think there have been several this season that have affected us, and I can look back at the Chesterfield game where the referee gave two penalties that I felt were very dubious and the free kick they scored from, a great strike, resulted from another contentious decision. We have to accept that, but there have been several incidents like that this season.

Q. I suppose once the deep injustice had eased we were still left with a fine away point which moved us closer to the second division safety zone. We then, for a change, took that to the next level in mid-week with a tremendous victory over Bristol City that moved us out of the relegation zone for the first time since October. What were your thoughts on that game, and the psychological boost being out of the bottom four gives to yourself and the team?

We have been down there so long that it could, in a sense, become a formality but the players haven't accepted that. We know as a football team that we have played very well and our football has been good. The results we have had have been, at times, quite unjust for various reasons, one of them being the referees being quite poor. We also realise that, in certain games, we have defended quite poorly. There are all those aspects we have to look at, but the major thing at the moment is that we are out of that bottom four. We are one position above relegation and we would love it to be the end of the season, we know its not and there are a lot of games to play. All we asked for was to put ourselves in a position where we had a good chance of surviving and we are there now. We must continue in this vein and I am sure we will be all right.

Q. There were some very pleasing performances in the game, notably from Marc Joseph who came into the side to replace injured left-back Tom Cowan and played very well. Tom Youngs scored twice and Trevor Benjamin looked at his very best. It all seemed to click into place?

Down that left side I had a left back and left midfielder who are right footed. I had to think long and hard about that particular side and how it would work, and to try and resolve that. It is far better to have a natural left-sided player as it makes the balance of the team much more stable. I thought the qualities those players had produced during the season would see us though. In Marc's case it was last minute, for him, as I didn't let him know until just before the game. I also had the option to put Ian Ashbee there who has played and done well there before but I felt playing him alongside Paul Wanless made our midfield strong and determined.

Tom Youngs, if we keep the boy free of injury, will score goals. His football will be good, and the one major thing people have looked at and questioned about him is his size and strength. I tell you one thing, his heart is big enough and that goes a long way.

Q. Prior to the Bury game last month it was reported in the local press that you had signed Spurs striker Paul McVeigh on loan. Has that deal fallen flat, as he is still with Spurs and has just been transfer listed?

The deal might go through. I have been trying from the start of the season to sign a centre half, and the possibility had been on and off so many times this season it is untrue. In a sense there still might be a chance between now and the deadline of signing a centre half that can come in and do well for us until the end of the season. I want to keep my options open as if I bring in McVeigh I am snookered in terms of the loan situation. Before the deadline I may sign, and hopefully will sign, Paul McVeigh and we can have a look at him until the end of the season, as the boy has something.

Q. We travel to Scunthorpe on Saturday to face a side directly above us in the league table, in the knowledge that defeat would open up a seven-point gap between us and them. Are you treating this as a massive game, or just the next one?

It is the next game, and every next game is a big game. If we play every game between now and the end of the season as a big game then I would love that. The more there is at stake in a football match, the more chance we have, in a sense, of getting out of the problems we have. We need to stay in touch and Scunthorpe are four points above us. If we beat them it will only be a point, and they will be dragged back into it. As you say, where at the moment there are five teams involved we can all of a sudden drag them in and make it six. That would give ourselves a much better chance of surviving.

Q. We can't seem to complete a fixture lately without picking up some kind of injury to a key player. The injury list is growing by the week, would you consider it to have reached crisis levels yet?

No, the major crisis has been with the big injuries we have had. Andy Duncan broke his leg and Alex Russell, our most influential midfielder, has been out for the majority of the season. In that sense we have lost two of our best players. We have the likes of Clive Wilson, Tom Cowan, Jason Kavanagh, Neil Mustoe and the new one to be added to the list is sadly Michael Kyd. He will be seeing a specialist tomorrow about his knee as he felt it in a training session. There was no tackle or contact as such. Every football club goes through a stage like this, being unlucky with injuries. What is important is the training and how we prepare them.

With the injuries we have had I think in terms of Steve Guinan and Jason Kavanagh, their injuries might have been down to the pace of the football they have come into from reserve teams. When all the games have come at them they have found it a bit difficult. Clive Wilson was unlucky with his ligament injury and touch wood he will be back in a week or so. Tom Cowan twisted his ankle and that can happen to anyone at any time. We have to get on with it and live with it, as we have to do with the referees.

Q. Do those players you mention - Neil Mustoe, Jason Kavanagh and Tom Cowan - have any chance of making the Scunthorpe game?

Out of all of them there is a 2% chance that Tom Cowan will be fit for Saturday. We will look at him and assess him over the next day but he looks very doubtful.

Q. I know you don't like to give much away regarding team selection prior to a game; is that the same this week or do you think you might stick with the side that played so well against Bristol City in midweek?

The one thing I have said is that sometimes, when you change it about a bit and bring in fresh legs, it can work. If you are asking me if it will be the same team ... wait and see.

Will Jones

Q. Robin Castle from North Devon asks: Only eight different players have scored for the team so far, are the players too defence-minded, or too reliant on the strikers to score the goals?

Q. Chris Jenkins, who is away at university, asks: Roy, in your opinion, which player(s) have improved the most over the course of this season? There does seem to be a lot of improvement in players since last season and for me it has to be Scott Eustace.

I think Scott has been playing very well, and had a spell recently where for a string of games he was our best player. There have been several players that have improved, but others that have been disappointing. I know Ben Chenery found it hard at the beginning of the season and has had a rest from the team. We brought in a right back, he has got injured and Ben got another chance, and didn't do too bad.

I can look at Tom Youngs (left), as he hasn't really had a chance to be a first team regular. Due to injuries we have brought him in and he has scored goals and done very well, I have been very pleased with his progress.

Q. Nick from Norwich asks: How can you explain our recent up-turn in form away from home and our relative slump at home? Do you think the younger players are nervous playing in front of a demanding home crowd that do tend to get on their backs after making mistakes, or do you think that our recent away form has been a reflection of the great travelling support?

I think the travelling support has been tremendous, and is very much appreciated. I think several times this season, and I can look back to the first game at Bournemouth, the lads have been very unlucky away from home. It did last a long time, and obviously we were pleased when we got our first away win at Notts County, but it was a long time overdue. We were a little bit to blame for the way we played at times, and the way we defended at times.

At home I also look at the opposition. The three experienced players that came into the Blackpool side, and the upsurge that Steve McMahon brought to the side were a little bit too much for us. I wish we could play them again now, and it is easy for me to say that, but I do think we would cope with it a lot better.

Against Millwall we had a very poor spell and went 2-0 down, and it is then very hard to change the game. We had a penalty, but when we missed it we lost the chance of getting something out of the game. I said afterwards, and a lot of people disagreed with me, that I thought we had played well over the 90 minutes and after looking over the video I still wouldn't change my views over how we played.

Q. Andy in the USA asks: Roy, results are picking up, confidence seems to be growing and for the first time in months there is a realistic possibility of staying up. With the transfer deadline in mind, are you looking to buy players to get promotion from Division Two or Three? And are there any players out of contract in the summer (except Ise), say Neil Mustoe for example?

We have always believed in the football club that we would survive in the second division. Even in the darkest days when we were bottom of the league we were still confident and positive and had remained so. That gave me hope and spirit and the players reacted to that. You can only judge and talk to players about how they have played and I think overall this season we have played very well at times.

As regards the transfer market I am trying every week to improve the football club. I think if we react on deadline day it's poor management by me. There is a player I have been trying to sign, and a position I have been trying to fill all season. I have been trying to sign a centre half for many months. Hopefully before the deadline that will happen, or somebody else will come into the football club. There is a chance I will sign a Finnish player on loan, and there are lots of things going on all the time. I have two young Chelsea players down here at the moment for us to have a look at.

Neil Mustoe's contract is up at the end of the season. I have spoken to Neil and we, as a football club, will be offering him new terms for the foreseeable future.

Q. Martin Wilde from Cambridge asks: Looking back over the season so far, what, with hindsight, would you have done differently and at what time? In other words, what have you learned as a manager from our experience this year?

I wouldn't have done everything different. You always learn from mistakes, and there are plenty of things I have done wrong this season, as I did wrong last season when we were promoted. You reflect back and wish you had done different but I think every manager, even Alex Ferguson, thinks like that. We all make mistakes and hope that in making them we learn from them.

The structure and shape of my team and the way the players have committed themselves has been, at times, excellent. I have talked about our frailties before, and I know where the weaknesses are. I try to strengthen those weaknesses but have been unable to do so for various reasons. Either the player doesn't want to come, we can't afford the transfer fee or we can't afford his wages. There are all those things that have affected me trying to bring players into the football club but that is normal, it has always been the situation. It wont stop me trying to persuade people to come here and I think Tom Cowan is a great example as I wanted to sign him over a year ago but I couldn't do it. He is now out of the Burnley team and he has come here and shown our supporters the qualities he has. That is football, and whether or not he stays at this football club is immaterial. I will make sure that if I can't get him, I will get somebody else.

If you would like to have your question asked next week, please follow this link and complete the form. Whenever possible the answers will be available every Thursday night.

As ever, we would like to thank Graham Eales for the opportunity to put these questions to Roy McFarland, and the manager for his co-operation.

If you have any comments about this regular feature, either for Will or myself or for Roy or Graham, please use this e-mail address: feedback@cambridgeunited.com