Andy Reynolds prepared to answer the keeper call again for Trawlerboys
Lowestoft Town assistant boss Andy Reynolds could pull on the keeper gloves again for the Blues. Picture: Shirley D Whitlow - Credit: Archant
Lowestoft Town assistant boss Andy Reynolds would be ready to take the goalkeeper gloves again this weekend - but only if he has to.
Elvijs Putnins will be between the sticks when the Blues travel to Ware this afternoon in the first qualifying round of the FA Cup but Reynolds will once again be on the bench.
Reynolds insists his inclusion is only as a precaution but he is happy to step into the breach should Putnins be out of action just as he did during Lowestoft's 3-1 win at Stratford last month.
'I've been registered as a player at all the clubs Jamie and I have managed - Kirkley, Sudbury and Wroxham - it's just a precaution,' said Reynolds, who officially 'retired' from playing in 2013 before joining Jamie Godbold's backroom team. 'If you have four subs you might as well put in a sub goalkeeper. We would rather throw me on than have one of our outfield players have to take the gloves.
'I stopped playing because I knew it was what my body wanted me to do.
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'I think the thing you miss when you stop playing is the buzz and the banter of the dressing room. But I'm lucky enough as part of the coaching team to still be part of that.'
There's certainly a buzz around the Lowestoft squad after going four matches undefeated as they head to Hertfordshire in the cup. Ware play a step below Lowestoft in the Bostik South Central Division and the Trawlerboys will be slight favourites to advance and pick up the £6,000 prize money.
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Reynolds admits the bean counters at Crown Meadow would particularly relish a cup run but insists it can't be at the expense of their league campaign.
'Cup runs are always great for any football club as they do so much for the town and the club itself,' he said. 'We are never going to turn down a cup run – we have not made good progress in the cup for a little while so it would be nice to change that.
'(But) come the end of the season if it is a choice between a few rounds in the cup and staying up then clearly we want to stay where we are.'
Lowestoft have not enjoyed much success in the FA Cup in recent years but famously reached the first round proper in 2009 before going down to a 1-0 defeat against Wrexham.