Ozanne gees struggling Rovers up for the cup

ROVERS' start to the year was anything but happy. And, as a result of that 5-1 defeat at the hands of Sylvans on bank holiday Monday, Rovers approach today's FA Cup quarter-final with Specsavers nearing a crisis.

Certainly there is a crisis of confidence at Port Soif, epitomised by calamitous and uncertain defending which allowed Sylvans to go 2-0 up without breaking sweat in the first 10 minutes.

A virtual first team turned out for the Jackson on Thursday night and went down 1-0 to St Martin's.

And to make matters worse, skipper Keith Quertier limped off after just a couple of minutes and will probably miss the Specsavers game.

I had intended to conduct a good-natured chat with amiable coach Ian Ozanne after the Sylvans game. It turned into more of a confessional, while Ozanne defiantly said he had no intention of quitting.

'If they players want me as coach then I am quite happy to do it,' said the former Muratti full back, who had a medal-packed time with Vale Rec before moving to Rangers and then playing out his days at Port Soif.

'I have the respect of the players and the committee but we have had some tough times.

'Do they still want me?

'I'm not going to walk away but if they want someone else - if someone else can do a better job - then I will.

'I think I'm the best man for the job - not blowing my own trumpet - but we could do with another couple of players to work with.'

I was a little surprised about the 'small club' reference, unless it is to silverware.

Certainly the coaching set up around the first team appears to be strong, with a dedicated fitness and goalkeeping coach alongside Ozanne.

Rovers' minis section is burgeoning, but it has had little success with the older juniors in the past decade or so.

The Corbet Cup has gone to Port Soif twice in recent seasons, but the Youth Three side are not running away with their league as would be expected.

This worries Ozanne, who also took charge of the side as they clinched last year's final against North.

'They are not top of the league and I find that demoralising,' he said. 'Youth Three has got to be the stepping stone for this club. For them not to be achieving the goals they should be is sad from my point of view.'

At senior level, the Railway side is comfortably mid-table and includes a number of useful former Priaulx regulars including Ian Powell and Paul Philp.

But Rovers effectively have no Jackson side at the moment and a thin Priaulx squad. The side for second-team games tends to be a mix of Priaulx players, a couple of Railway stalwarts and a couple of youths.

Ozanne admitted: 'We are a Jackson team playing in the Priaulx League. No disrespect to the players, but you can be the best coach in the world, but if you haven't got the players, you just have to do the best you can.

'All we're doing is trying to work hard in training and put things right, but you cannot coach away individual errors.'

It seems as though the first team has slipped in the last couple of seasons, but I have witnessed - and played in - far inferior sides than that currently wearing blue and white.

Simon Tostevin, George Prow and Jamie Ferbrache are all obvious Priaulx players and provide Rovers with the source of their goals - a perennial problem at Port Soif. They made 13 second-half chances against Sylvans - if more of them had fallen to Tostevin, the deficit might have been reduced further.

But Rovers now suffer at the other end. The defending was woeful against basic tactics from what was largely a team of Sylvans reserves.

Ozanne said of Monday's performance: 'What can you say?

'At least they battled in the second half, I think we looked the better team in the second half. But because we'd shipped four goals in the first half, there was nothing we could do.

'If we play like that on Saturday we will get our arses kicked. We'll have a good chat during the week, a few home truths. They need to look at themselves and think ?I am better than this?.

'Specsavers will have a good team with a couple of wise old heads.

'We go into every match with a game plan. But we let goals in, shoot ourselves in the foot, and have to chase the game.'

Rovers have at least enjoyed plenty of goals in their FA Cup run, the bright spot on a season which is fizzling out fast. They've hit the net 23 times, but twice been chasing games, coming from behind to win against Sunday side Mariners' Inn and CoreFocus from the business league.

'We give every team a couple of goals start,' said a frustrated Ozanne. 'If I knew, I'd sort it out, but I can't put my finger on it.

'I know we can score, but other Priaulx defences are so tight, they don't give us anything, but we give them everything.'

Ozanne knows from experience as a player that, historically, trips to Port Soif always involved a dogfight, even if the visitors took the points more often than not.

At the very least, his aim will be to return to those days soon. And continuing interest in the FA Cup would be a start.