Wotton keen to see where his Gulls are at

Paul Wotton believes this weekend’s Bank Holiday double-header will provide him with a ‘good marker’ of where his Torquay United side stand.

In what has been a hugely encouraging start for the new Gulls boss in National League South - Torquay have won two of their three fixtures so far - the 47-year-old is acutely aware that tougher challenges lie ahead for his team.

First up is the visit of unbeaten Dorking Wanderers to Plainmoor on Saturday, quickly followed by a trip to Chesham on Monday.

“I think it will be a good marker for us for where we are,” said Wotton. “I think we are relatively injury free. It’s a game we are all looking forward to. There’s a feel-good around the place and as long as we work hard and just keep giving everything we have got...

“You never know what is going to happen in a game of football. We are far from the finished article, nowhere near where I want us to be. It’s early and it’s a slow process but hopefully, fingers crossed, with hard work we will get there.”

Torquay kicked off their campaign with a 2-1 win at home to Enfield, before coming unstuck 1-0 at league leaders Farnborough a week later. On Tuesday night, however, they were back in the groove, securing a 2-1 success at Bath City.

Wotton named an unchanged side for the first two games but then made four changes for the visit to Bath, where striker Cody Cooke scored his first goal for the club, and Ed Palmer, once a trainee at Torquay, got the second goal on his debut.

Back on home soil, Wotton is banking on the Plainmoor faithful to get behind his team once more, adding: “It feels like quite a long time from the Enfield game. It is always a great experience here. I am sure the fans will turn out in force. Dorking are one of the favourites to win the league. I don’t know a great deal about them, but I am looking forward to it and I think it is always good to test yourself.”

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