Boss John Sheridan revealed in his post-match interview on Saturday that Richie Bennett’s match winning goal was the product of some training ground work, done with an aim for more productive use to be made of set pieces going forward.
“We felt there could possibly be something there for us on Saturday from set pieces, so we did some work on it on the training ground last week,” he explained. “There’s been a lack of goals from set plays for us so far - I just don’t think we’ve been that good with them this year.
“With the likes of Grainger, Devitt and Gillesphey in our side, we have people with good delivery, but I don’t think those situations have been as good as they should have been. The only other one we’ve scored was Tom Parkes against Port Vale. Set pieces are a big thing, especially in this league, so it’s a big plus for us to have got another one.”
“With our goal, I wanted the three big lads in Parkes, Gerrard and Bennett staying out of the way, which they did, with Gillesphey and Liddle looking to get a run and a touch at the near post,” he continued. “Richie Bennett was in a good position and it was a good finish. These things don’t always come off, but this one did, and it gave us an advantage and ended up getting us a victory.”
With the victory catapulting United six places into fifth spot, he commented: “It’s up and down like a yo-yo and there’s a long, long way to go. Let’s be honest, some of the results you see around the league are ridiculous.
“I’m only bothered about us and that’s the way I’ll continue to be. I wouldn’t mind eight or nine of these results away from home where we pick all three points up. That really will keep us in the mix. We know the points we need for play-offs and automatic so it’s important we stay in touch.”
With back-to-back home games coming up, starting with the visit of Stevenage on Saturday, he said: “We’ve got two home games coming up, but they’ll both be tough games.
“Stevenage are going well, and Grimsby will be tough even though they haven’t had the best start. I think they’re better than where they are in the table at the moment, but every game is difficult in this league.
“Home form is vital, we keep saying that and reminding people of it. If you get it right at home and go away and win games it makes things even better. I want us to be a strong outfit at home, first and foremost, but we’re grinding results out away from home as well.
“Full credit to the players. I can talk about it all I want, but it’s the players who go out on the pitch and work their socks off. The desire to get the win and keep the three points was there to be seen at the weekend and we have to give them a lot of credit for that.
“We knew Bury had players who would come at us, they’re a very good side, but we defended well when we had to. It really was a very good victory for us.”
The run of form which has kept the Blues in the top half has made team selection difficult for a manager who has some good players at his disposal.
“I love it in a player when he’s knocking on the door and asking why he’s not playing,” he admitted. “I’m very honest and I always try to tell them the reasons why, but I want them all believing that they have a chance of being involved.
“That’s because they have. They all bring different things and have different qualities and, if we can keep them all fit, it will make my life very hard when it comes to filling in the team sheet. That’s a problem I like to have.”
And on his current injured trio, he said: “Mike Jones will train this week, but Danny Grainger has just had a little bit of a set-back.
“Jason Kennedy is working hard, and things are going well for him, but he’ll keep taking his advice from the medical staff.”
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