Shropshire Star

Gavin Cowan knows his AFC Telford side needs rest

Gavin Cowan admits ‘rest can be as crucial as exercise’ as he attempts to ‘regulate’ his AFC Telford players through a demanding spell.

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Only Farsley Celtic and Curzon Ashton, with 13, have played more of their National North fixtures than Telford (12) this season, while some have played as few as seven and eight.

The Bucks chief says how his players are managed physically both at Lilleshall and Love2Stay in Shrewsbury are is crucial for match preparation.

“It’s difficult, a lot of teams are full-time at our level,” Cowan said. “You have to manage players, I have to be guided by them a little bit. They have to have the desire to come in and train. We try to work hard on raising levels and bringing them down in case they get too fatigued.

“We try to regulate them, making sure session-to-session we can keep them at their optimum. Sometimes that’s a slightly lower distanced-covered then sometimes we feel they need a good workout.

“It’s managing it day-to-day and week-to-week.

“Sometimes the rest is as important as exercise, sometimes no rest or journey can make the world of difference.”

“I don’t get a lot of time with them, we just try to prepare them for matchday and work as hard as we can.”