Neil Aspin admitted he would have only given Dan Gardner his Town debut in the event of a penalty shoot-out in Tuesday’s FA Cup replay.
Gardner was a surprise inclusion on the bench for Town, who only named two outfield substitutes on Saturday, with Aspin having reported last week that the game at Sincil Bank would come too soon for the midfield man.
Although he is nearing fitness following a knee injury sustained back in July, Aspin reiterated that Gardner was never going to be used on Tuesday night - unless it had been to take a penalty in a shoot out.
“Dan is not ready to come back,” said Aspin.
“We only had two subs on the bench on Saturday and if the game on Tuesday night was going to go to penalties then I would have brought him on in the last minute because he didn’t miss one for Droylsden last season and we’ve got a poor record at taking penalties.”
“I would have wanted to get as many people who are confident at taking them on the pitch as I could.
“You always have to think ahead but there is no way he was going to come on because he’s not ready yet.”
Comments