Guernsey Press

‘Favourites tag just hilarious’ – Reynolds

IT IS ‘hilarious’ that holders Jersey have branded Guernsey as Siam Cup favourites today, according to Jordan Reynolds.

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(Picture by www.guernseysportphotography.com)

Speaking with a husky voice that was still recovering from the half-time rollicking he gave his players during the National Two promotion play-off victory over Bournemouth, the Raiders head coach questioned the necessity of applying the tags of favourite or underdog to either side in the annual clash for the beautiful old trophy.

‘It’s been a decade since we’ve won a Siam and it’s funny because every year for that 10 years, we’ve been the favourites,’ he laughed.

‘We’re favourites again this year, which is hilarious. What do you say to that? We’ll have to do it again and see how we go.

‘At the end of the day, you don’t have to put massive spin on the Siam.

‘We just say the Siam Cup is a big occasion, why do you have to put a spin on it to give yourselves satisfaction? The boys know how big it is, that’s good enough for us.’

Asked about his side’s preparations for today’s clash during the shirt presentation on Wednesday night, Reynolds simply raised his eyebrows in a ‘what preparation?’ gesture before joking, ‘does Sunday count with the celebrating?’.

‘We didn’t train on Tuesday – there wouldn’t have been any bodies to train on Tuesday,’ he said referring to the toll the promotion play-off with Bournemouth took on his players.

‘We just wanted to give the boys a rest. If Jersey were in the same situation and they played a game like we had to play [last weekend], they would be doing the same. They haven’t, so evidently they are going to be training.

‘It’s not going to give anyone more of an advantage, it’s just the way it is.’

As for himself, Reynolds is renowned as a coach who does his homework on the opposition.

Not this time, though, aside from simply saying Jersey ‘have some fantastic players’ in their side.

‘We have a formula that’s worked for us this season and we’ll continue it through to the Siam.

‘We know what we want to do, we’re only fixing little things as we go along. We’ve just got to bear with it and it’s another game we’ve got to get through this year.

‘On the back of it, has it been a successful season for us? Absolutely. If we had the opportunity to win the Siam, would it be even better? Maybe a little bit, but it won’t take anything away from the promotion.’

The match kicks off at 2.45pm.