Paul Wotton is desperately seeking a cure for Torquay United's away day blues to keep their promotion bid from National League South back on track.
Following the Gulls' defeat to Dorking Wanderers on Saturday, United's record on the road now reads played seven, won one, drawn twice and lost four. This is in direct contrast to their home form where the Gulls have won six at Plainmoor from a possible seven - the other saw them draw 0-0 with Andy Carroll's Dagenham & Redbridge.
Over the years, United's away record has been a mixed bag. In the 1987-88 season, under the late Cyril Knowles, they recorded a record 11 wins on their travels, as they missed out on automatic promotion on the final day of the campaign before losing to Swansea City in a two-legged play-off final.
Four years later, in the 1991-92 campaign, a year after eventually achieving promotion from the 'old' Fourth Division through the Play-offs against Blackpool at Wembley, they made an immediate return to the 'new' Third Division - following the creation of the Premier League in 1992 - after only picking up five points on their travels - all from draws. Remarkably, United's return of 42 points from their home fixtures was worthy of a side with play-off ambitions.
The Gulls tasted victory on the road when they beat Doncaster Rovers 3-2 at their old Belle Vue ground in August 1992. In September 2024, they finally won an away game in the third tier, now renamed League One, when United came away from Edgeley Park with a 2-0 win over Stockport County, courtesy of a brace from current BBC Radio Devon summariser Martin Gritton.
Whilst United's present record on the road isn't as bad as it was in 1991-92, the importance of Wotton finding a remedy to it remains of paramount importance in view of their promotion challenge. In order to solve it, Wotton will have to leave no stone turned, and analyse everything in terms of preparation, tactics, travel etc, and if needs be seek the opinions of the players, football advisor Neil Warnock, his assistant Mike Edwards and the rest of his backroom staff.
Regarding the latter on the list above, it is worth noting that two of the most famous away wins in United's recent history, their 3-2 win over Barnet in 2000-01 and their 2-1 victory at Southend in 2003-04, were achieved after they travelled on the day of the game. It could be argued that sleeping in their beds and experienced familiar surroundings may have helped put them in a better frame of mind.
Nevertheless, before the Gulls are on their travels again, they face league leaders Hornchurch, managed by former loanee Daryl McMahon, who are currently on a run of 13 games unbeaten in the league.