Marcus Bean has admitted that he feared the worst when Barry Richardson replaced Alex Lynch during Wycombe’s 1-0 win at Plymouth Argyle.
The 46-year-old goalkeeper entered the fray with around 15 minutes played at Home Park for what was his first competitive appearance since 2005.
Bean was therefore concerned when he realised the Blues would have to cope without first choice keeper Lynch for the best part of 80 minutes.
“I was thinking ‘God it is going to be a long afternoon’ to be honest with you,” said Bean.
“As a deputy coming in I can’t say anything more for Baz (Richardson), it was an unbelievable performance from him and he was a credit to himself today.”
The defence in front of Richardson were solid throughout and the fact that they prevented Argyle from creating any clear cut chances surely helped their stand in keeper cope.
As first team coach it would be fair to assume that Richardson’s fitness would not be at the required level to suddenly be dropped into the exhausting atmosphere of a competitive League Two match.
Bean though was eager to shed light on the work Richardson puts in in order to remain in good condition, while also casting an envious eye at the fitness levels of his middle aged teammate.
“To be fair to Baz he keeps himself in great shape and I hope I can look that way when I am 46. He is in the gym and trains well with the team,” he said.
“We just tried to make it difficult for them and make them take as many shots from distance as we could. We didn’t want Baz to have to make any difficult saves and I think we limited Plymouth.
“They didn’t really have the quality to break us down, and when they did have shots Baz was right up for it and he was outstanding.”
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