INTERVIEW: Start doing something about it

“I think the players know when they aren’t producing because they’re a tight knit group,” he said. “They’re in a job they love doing, but there are pressures within that job.

“In this case, they need to find within themselves how they deal with that pressure, individually and as a group. Sometimes they’re a little bit tentative and that means we see people go out there and struggle to do what they say they’re going to do.

“That leads to incidents where the goals we concede come from, and that’s why it’s so important for people to lose the hesitancy and get on with it.”

“Our supporters aren’t silly,” he continued. “They know when it looks like the lads haven’t put a shift in. That isn’t me saying the lads aren’t working hard, because that isn’t the case. They need to be more aggressive with each other and they need to force things out of each other so the work they are putting in is seen positively. 

“If things aren’t getting done by certain individuals, that’s when those beside them should be working hard to get it out of them. It’s when things aren’t being done that it causes problems for everyone.”

“Getting the best out of individuals these days has changed from how it used to be,” he explained. “These days you have to choose your words when you speak to players. 

“They aren’t as willing to accept direct criticism. With us, we used to accept it and our attitude was to prove whoever it was doing the talking wrong straight away. At the moment, you can see a change in the expression on their faces because they’re wondering if you’re having a go at them or not. 

“The manager said what he had to say on Monday and I think the lads have taken that on board. They’ve had an internal meeting and that was good for us to see. However, as has been said before, talk is cheap. 

“They’ve told us they’ve talked about Monday and about things which have gone wrong over the last four or five weeks. That’s fine, but it’s time to start doing things about it now.”

“I wouldn’t have needed a manager to say anything to get me motivated again after a performance like that, but I’m from a different era,” he commented. “I always felt it was part of my job to help whoever I was playing beside and I expected him to do the same for me. 

“We did that either by getting the best out of each other or by telling each other off. We accepted it either way because it’s only ever done for the right reasons. That’s what our players have to get used to and, when they do, they’ll be a more effective unit.”