Torquay United know just how big their Easter trip to Truro is

Torquay United manager Paul Wotton says someone would have to be living under a rock not to understand how big a game it will be on Friday when he takes his team to his former club Truro City. With three games of the National League South season to go, Torquay are three points behind the leaders Truro, fourth in the table, and ready to pounce. But you really can’t dismiss any team from the top to Boreham Wood in sixth, with nine points still to play for and some of the teams in the top six playing each other over the Easter period.

After Good Friday’s trip to Truro, it’s Weymouth at home on Easter Monday, before the final game of the regular season at Hemel Hempstead Town on Saturday, April 26. Whatever happens after that: If Torquay can’t win the title, second best will be to finish in second or third, to forgo the first round of play-off matches. If they finish in fourth, fifth, sixth, or seventh, they will have to win three play-off matches to go up instead of two.



“There are so many ifs and ands, it drives you potty really,” said Wotton, who was the manager of Truro for five years before leaving for Torquay in the summer. “We have been pretty good so far, concentrating not even on a game at a time but a day at a time. “We’ll get there and we’ll be prepared.

We know we are in for a hell of a game because Truro are having a fantastic season. Their home form is great so we are going to have to go down there and be pretty spot on.” The assistant manager to John Askey at Truro, Stewart Yetton, was Wotton’s assistant too.

Wotton says Yetton is a friend, but they won’t be talking to each other much this week! Wotton said: “He is one of my best mates anyway, outside of football. I speak to him a lot – but I probably won’t speak to him as much this week. But afterwards he will be the first person I’ll be shaking hands with and the first person I’ll be having a pint with.

I have obviously got a connection with the club. It was a very difficult club to manage at times because of the well-documented groundshares, and all the problems. “But I have got a lot of fond memories.

We got promoted and lots of the players that are still playing I signed. So it will be good to catch up with a few people I haven’t seen for a while. “Yes it’s a big game.

I can sit here and say it’s a big game because it’s our next one and all that – but without going into loads of detail about it, you would have to have been living under a rock to not realise it’s a big game for both clubs. We’re looking forward to it.” The manager reported no new injury problems after last Saturday, with only Dylan Morgan and Matt Wonnacott unavailable.

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