Yates plays down Ling's 'favourites' claim

Cheltenham boss Mark Yates believes Torquay counterpart Martin Ling is engaging in mind games ahead of their play-off semi-final tie.

Having seen the Robins claim a 2-0 advantage in Sunday's first leg at Whaddon Road, Gulls boss Ling declared "they're now massive favourites, we're the massive underdogs". The view is one which can be argued but the tie remains in the balance, with both Yates and Ling acknowledging it is far from over. Yates said: "Martin's a top man and a top manager, he's speaking as it is but he's also getting into a bit of mind games. It is a precarious lead, 2-0 - they get an early goal and it's game on, of course it is. "But I'd certainly rather be in our position and if that makes us massive favourites then so be it. We've got to handle that pressure. I've got every confidence and every belief that we can do that. "We won't be going down there thinking we're there and the game's over. We're a level-headed bunch, we keep our feet on the ground when we're winning or losing and we've still got a big job to do to progress."