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 the game against Oxford, explains his transfer deadline day dealings, and looks forward to the next two matches against Oldham and Bury. He also responds to the questions you want answered as U's Net reporter Will Jones once again puts him … "On The Spot".

Q. Looking back at the Oxford game Roy, a truly awful performance but a fantastic result. What were your thoughts on the game?

I thought the gate was superb and the crowd really got behind us. The football we produced for them was pretty poor but they would have gone off home happy because we won the game with two well-taken goals. The performance was very ordinary, to be fair, and we lost the ball and gave it away far too often but didn't get punished by the opposition. That lets you know that Oxford are going to find it hard because when we kept giving them the ball, they didn't do much with it.

Q. Watching Oxford was almost like watching Cambridge United from a few months ago. They had more possession and more of the game but couldn't turn that into goals, and made mindless mistakes that cost them the game. Would you agree?

That has, as you say, been part of our problem all season. The major problem we have had this season is giving away silly goals. I thought the first goal from Trevor was good but certainly the second was a result of a poor back pass in the conditions. It was pleasing for me as John Hansen picked it up and slotted the ball past the goalkeeper very confidently.

Q. You said last week that you wouldn't have any problems bringing the kids in, and you did just that by giving Nathan Lamey his first start of the season. His flick on set up the first goal, so you must have been encouraged by his performance?

He ran about and when he came in at half time I had a good chat with him as I could tell the last 15 minutes of the half were tough for him. He felt all right and we kept him on until he really started to tire in the second half.

He has played in the youth team and in the reserves and has been outstanding of late and done really well. The step up to league football is hard and a lot of strength is needed. He ran about and caused them a few problems. He will be playing at Oldham, and let's hope he can last that little bit longer and cause them the same problems.

Q. We had the new loan signing - Lionel Perez - in goal who seemed to be an instant fans favourite. How did you rate his performance and is there any chance of us signing him permanently?

I don't think we can sign him, it is just a short-term thing. I would love to think we could but we can't. He is a good pro and trains very hard. He played well but I assured him after the game that the team in front of him can play a lot better.

He made a few great saves and that is what he is there for. He had a good rapport not only with our supporters but the Oxford fans as well. It is not easy for away supporters to be sensible when they are losing 2-0 and in the relegation zone but Perez handled them very well. I was pleased with the reaction from their supporters, it was very good.

Q. That fine result moved us out of the relegation zone again, and up to 19th in the league. The results midweek mean we also have a game in hand over all the teams in the drop zone. It must be nice, at last, to be able to look at the league table without a tear in your eye?

We have that game in hand but it is no use unless we make it count. That game in hand comes about next Tuesday when we play Bury. Things can change very quickly in football, especially if you are not switched on and not focused and ready for the next challenge. If my players are thinking in terms that they have the extra game in hand to play on Tuesday to fall back on we will have problems.

The important thing is that the players have responded to a situation where they were in all sorts of trouble in the relegation zone. It hasn't happened overnight it has taken several weeks to get to where we are at the moment. The games are starting to run out and last Saturday proved that it isn't always about how well you play but how effective you are in terms of winning games.

Q. Two weeks ago I asked you if Neil Mustoe, who is out of contract at the end of the season, had been offered a new deal with the club. You said he had, and you were waiting for him to sign it. Has he signed the contract yet?

No, that is ongoing. The offer that we put to Neil, he said no to. I have sat down with him and discussed certain things in the contract and that is ongoing. When and if that will be resolved, I don't know. At the moment we are in discussions with him.

Q. Looking ahead, we have two vital games ahead against Oldham on Saturday and Bury next Tuesday. Oldham came here earlier in the season and played us off the park, how will you be approaching the game on Saturday?

I think the most influential player that day was the boy Sheridan. The reason for that was down to the fact we played two in midfield and they played three. They played through and round us and Sheridan strolled through, dictated the pace and destroyed us. That is in my mind, as if you give somebody that much room they are going to hurt you.

I look back at the game against Blackpool when they played with a three, Richardson was dictating the game and that is why we had a lot of problems against them. We need to shackle Sheridan better than we did at the Abbey.

Q. The injuries and suspensions mean we will be without Tom Youngs and Trevor Benjamin up front. Are any of the other players - Wanless, Mackenzie, Mustoe, Wilson and Hunt - likely to be ready in time?

Jonathan Hunt still has a sore ankle. He has trained all week, and each day it has got a bit better. It is still touch and got as regards to him playing. Neil Mustoe has come through well this week and has trained very well with the first team today, as has Paul Wanless. He had a slight thigh strain but that has settled down and I touch wood with both him and Mustoe. Neil Mackenzie is a little bit sore, we will have to wait and see with him.

Q. With the injuries and suspensions a point against Oldham would be a good result. You said last week that you felt the fact Oxford would come to the Abbey Stadium and be happy with a point would give us the psychological edge … is there the danger we could fall into the same trap at Oldham?

I never know with the teams in the middle of the league. They are either going to be relaxed and play super football, or they will be relaxed and, in a sense, not that concerned if they go behind or lose the game as they know, in a sense, that they are reasonably safe. I hope it is the latter but we will have to wait and see. I prefer it when there is something riding on the game. It adds that little bit of tension and pressure. There will be pressure on us because of our position, and we will have that for the rest of the season. How Oldham will react to the game on Saturday I am not very sure.

Will Jones

Nick of Norwich asks: What were the reasons behind our failure once again to sign the available Sodje from Luton? He's gone to a similarly positioned (financially wise at least) Colchester, so what went wrong as it surely can't have been his wage demands?

Without going into too much detail, he was offered to me in the summer and we couldn't afford him. I then had a chance three months ago to sign him but we couldn't afford his wages.

Gary Rogers asks: After watching the Blackpool match at home recently, I notice how many ex-premiership players they had. Why has it not been possible for us to have got just one when we have been crying out for an experience centre half all season? With the money we got for Butler, do you think it would be wiser to spend on a player's wage and get one of these ex-premiership players?

What do you think I have been trying to do? I have blisters on my fingers and earholes as a result of trying to get those sort of players at this club.

Alex Jones asks: My friend recently witnessed the Stevenage vs. Tottenham Hotspur friendly. He said that there was around 4000 people watching the game. Would it be possible for Cambridge United to arrange friendly games against top division sides now and then to help ease their financial pressures, especially if they advertised it a bit?

The fixture list is quite tight and it is quite hard. The pleasing thing for us is that we had a good run in the FA Cup. We have the Auto Windscreen, the Worthington Cup and the pressure of the league. It is well documented that we have a number of injuries and suspensions so to throw midweek friendly games in at a time when we don't need them is not good.

The time to try and get that sort of fixture is in the pre-season, and that is exactly what we have been trying to do. We have already written to the majority of the premier league clubs trying to set one up, but sadly the response we have had so far has been disappointing.

Scott Rotherham of Hull University asks: Roy, if the mighty U's do manage to stay up this season, will Trevor Benjamin stay at the club for the foreseeable future (presuming he'll still want to), or will he be sold to strengthen the squad and the team's chances of survival for next season? (Keep grafting away and best wishes for the run-in.)

Thank you very much, Scott. A good question. Trevor Benjamin will only leave this football club when it suits this football club and not, in a sense, Trevor Benjamin. Everything has to fall into place. The reason Martin Butler was sold was because of our finances and I would think in the future Trevor Benjamin will leave our football club because of two things: a) we need the money or b) a team comes in and puts so much money on the table that we can't refuse.

We will not stand in the way of Trevor Benjamin's career in football. If the offer is not right and it is not the right time then we won't sell him. We said once Martin Butler was sold that Trevor wouldn't leave this football club and we have kept that promise. When Trevor does go it is up to myself and David Preece to replace him, and hopefully with the Nathan Lamey, Daniel Chillingworth, Zema Abbey and the other youngsters we have coming through the ranks we can do that. We will have to do that or, with the money, replace him with a player who has the same potential as Trevor did when he was younger.

John of Cambridge asks: I wondered why the sudden and late move for Jon Hunt - excellent player though he is - when a defender and a striker might have been better cover until the end of the season?

Beggars can't be choosers. The injury to the goalkeeper meant I had to get a goalkeeper in. I didn't want to leave 'Ise' as our only leading goalkeeper with the chance of Shaun Marshall not being fit for the rest of the season should their be a reoccurrence of his thigh strain. I couldn't afford to risk that, so used one of the loans for the goalkeeper.

I tried to sign a centre-forward who, at the moment, I don't need to name. I was told no, and then went for somebody who I felt would be able to score us goals from midfield as I have known Jonathan Hunt from when he was at Southend and I tried to sign him when I was at Derby but he signed for Birmingham. He eventually went to Derby under Jim Smith and then went on to Sheffield. I know the player and know he can score goals from midfield.

Nick of Norwich asks: What are your views on the numbers of foreigners in the English game and what do you think about the suggested scheme of capping the number of foreigners in teams?

I think we are trying to backtrack and deal with something we should have addressed two or three years ago. I am not against the foreign players coming in, I still think if the quality English players are there then they will reach the top. There is no doubt at the moment that Manchester United are a great credit to English and world football. There are a few English and Irish players in their squad, so they have the balance right. I can't see any reason why it should hamper our English players coming through and playing for the top English clubs.

The idea is that they are looking to cap the number of foreign players in a side. I think that is a good idea, but I wish there had been some foresight a few years ago as now we have gone down the route of allowing all foreigners we have clouded the issue a little bit. I don't think it has done it any harm at the moment, as the English league is very good, almost on par with Serie A in Italy.

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