Davies: 'We'd have been stupid not to prioritise the FA Cup'

Scott Davies hopes he’ll be celebrating like this again on Sunday evening. Photo: Zak Rana

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Scott Davies admitted players’ minutes were managed in Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at Dover Athletic, with this Sunday’s FA Cup second round clash with Macclesfield looming on the horizon and having to take precedence.

Second half goals from George Nikaj and Kenny Coker saw the Rebels fall back into the National League South relegation zone, with the visitors having made seven changes for the game and rested more of their players for the final 30 minutes.

But player manager Scott Davies felt that was a necessary evil and a necessary precaution to take with such a big tie coming up for the Rebels.

He wanted to give the club the best chance possible to progress to the third round of the FA Cup and keeping key players free from injury could be key to that.

“We could have gone to Dover with the same team that got a really good result against AFC Totton, and we might have won the game,” he said. “But we also might have picked up some injuries.

“We’ve managed people’s minutes and made sure that no one did too much because we know this is an incredible chance to make history for the football club.

“It’s an incredible chance for us to get through and possibly draw a huge club in the next round

“We’d be stupid not to prioritise it. But we’ve done alright in the last month as we’ve won two and drawn two. That isn’t a bad return in the weeks before a cup tie like this.”

Davies also doesn’t think the result on Saturday will negatively impact the players’ confidence heading into Sunday’s clash, which is now a sellout and is also being televised on TNT Sports and Discovery+.

He also believes the club will kick on and see an improvement in results, irrespective of whether they get the better of Macclesfield and put their name in the hat for the FA Cup third round.

“We had the Maidstone game where we lost 4-1 and then we had a reaction to that when we played Altrincham and managed to get through,” said Davies.

“I think we’ll get a reaction again and that’s the truth.

“A couple of years ago, we were fourth from bottom when we played Grimsby Town, and once that was over, we kicked on in the league, did well and finished 10th.

“For us there are a lot of comparisons. Hopefully we get through the FA Cup, but if we don’t we need to focus on our league campaign and start climbing the table now we’ve got those players back from injury.”

On the pressure of playing in front of the TV cameras and managing the occasion, Davies added: “We’ve got quite an experienced team when it comes to playing in front of the cameras.

“A fair few of them have. But it’s about playing the game rather than playing the occasion. It’s so cliche but so true.

“We’ve got some good experience on the field and in the dugout.

“I can’t wait; I’ve dared to dream myself about what could happen. But the other side of the coin is that it will be massive heartbreak if we don’t get through and complete jubilation if we do.

“The gap between the two is huge but hopefully on Sunday we’ll get the right feeling.”