“It’s all about belief” — Sitting down with Scott Cuthbert & Carl Piergianni

After Stevenage qualified for the last 32 of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy after a draw against Gillingham in 90 minutes, I sat down with Scott Cuthbert & Carl Piergianni, assistant manager & captain of Stevenage Football Club.

Both were in pretty high spirits following their teams qualification, however the main priority for both and what seems to be Boro’s priority also is the league & the upcoming fixture against Leyton Orient.

With a big break awaiting their side after their trip to Birmingham was postponed due to international call ups, I asked them several questions on what is to come for both in the future…

Hi Carl, how’s your recovery from injury going?

CP: “Going reall well, I’ve had an ongoing issue with my calf however scan results were very positive so it’s a lot better than we originally thought. I played at the weekend so tonight for me was off limits, we couldn’t risk it.

“I should be ready to play against Orient in a weeks time, and I’m definitely feeling match fit. I missed one weekend of football in my time out so it wasn’t as if I was out for a few weeks. I didn’t feel like I was out of the team.”

How do you feel about the teams performance against Gillingham?

CP: “I feel it was different in both halves.

“I think we were poor first half, we didn’t do enough and we didn’t do what we wanted to do going forward. The quality wasn’t there in the final third.

“Second half we saw a reaction from the boys. We played with a higher tempo, we caused a lot more problems. The boys who came on put a spark in the game.

“We’ve been speaking recently about playing well fully for 90 minutes, we’ve been going well for phases of the game but never the full game, so that’s something we need to change.”

SC: “The team as a whole did well, especially in the second half. The young lads especially did well in a test against very experienced men, and it will only stand them in good stead.

“We got a hold of the ball better in the second half. Dan Kemp’s goal kind of summed it up, he had composure to beat a man with a lovely finish. That’s what I feel was the difference.”

You haven’t won since your victory in October against Mansfield Town, what do you think is the key to getting back to winning ways against Leyton Orient?

CP: “It’s all about belief.

“We want to keep belief about what we’re doing, we felt good going to Cambridge, we went to Rotherham but we fell on the wrong side of the balance. After three defeats, long runs can happen in this league.

“It’s important to keep the faith, we know we can beat the best in the league on our day, we’ve beaten Wrexham for example, so we can do it if we keep that sort of mentality.

“We’ve got a good record against Orient. We know what they’re about and we’ve built up a bit of a rivalry with them so there will definitely be edge in the game. If we play as well as we know we can, we win the game. We need to focus on ourselves however and play our best football.”

Obviously your through to the next round of the cup, you could get several teams in your league, Charlton, Colchester etc. Who do you want to face & if you can get past any of them, how far do you honestly think your side can get?

CP: “In cup football it’s all about qualifying. When we went to Aston Villa for example, it was tough, incredibly tough. Even the round before we went to Gateshead we stuggled but we went through on penalties.

“After that it was a bit of a shock, we found ourselves at Premier League opposition but we won. That proves it doesn’t matter how you do it, as long as you get through.

“In this cup, League One is the limit, so there’s nothing stopping us from going all the way.”

SC: “It’s all about us, I’m not bothered about who we face because we want to focus on getting through to the next round regardless of who we play. We want to test ourselves, we want to play the strongest teams and go toe to toe with them.

“Whoever we get however, we’re gonna bring the game to them, we’ll relish the challenge, and we’re going to go there to win the game.”

Brothers Taye & Luca both faced off in the opposite nets during the game, do you think Taye dealt with the game as more as a personal battle or just another game for him?

CP: “Honestly, I can’t relate to anything he’s been through with siblings as I’ve never had to experience that in my career.

“It must have been a great occasion for both of them, I know their parents were in attendance so it must’ve been an incredibly day for their whole family.

“Both looked good in their own boxes, they kicked well, and it must have been incredibly entertaining to watch in the penalty shootout.”

You’ve both got the next round of this cup, and then the rearranged Birmingham fixture to be rescheduled yet meaning there’s definitely potential for a fixture crunch. How do you think your side can cope with what could possibly be a tight fixture list that’s upcoming?

SC: “It’s always a challenge in this league, and all of the boys will have to face this in their careers.

“It’s imporant to have everyone fit, but also I know I’ll sound like a broken record when I say this especially as it’s an old cliche, but you need everyone to take part when asked.

“All the boys have to work Saturday & Tuesday every week for fixtures, so it’s incredibly demanding for them but they need to be there and be ready to be up for the cause.

“We need boys normally who don’t usually get minutes to get them in these sort of games. I know this was important for us to qualify but these games are there for us to work on fitness for the lads who won’t normally get them.”

Written by: Henry Bennett

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