Wide men Harry McKirdy and Nathan Thomas were at the heart of a lot of United’s good work on Tuesday night, but they were just two of a number of top-drawer performances which saw the Blues cruise past Barnsley and into the next round of the Carabao Cup.
Manager Steven Pressley spoke this week about the impact he feels his wingers can have, particularly within the style of play the club has adopted this season.
“Harry [McKirdy] has scored another goal and contributed with an assist for the penalty, and it was another great performance from him,” he said. “Harry is a lively boy but he’s a likeable lad with great talent.
“Him and Nathan [Thomas] are the types of players who can create the moments, and that’s why we signed them. You need ‘make the difference’ players and they’re proving that at this moment in time.
“It’s only three games, and it’s about doing it week after week for both of them. We could have 55 games this season, and they have to continue to improve and do what they’re doing right now.”
“Nathan was in devastating form again and he scored his goal, which was pleasing,” he continued. “Nath played really well at Swindon when we got him the ball, we just didn’t get it to him enough.
“I think he’s shown why we were so desperate to get him here. He isn’t a League Two player, but there are reasons why he’s here, and we’ll continue to work with him and try to improve him. I think he’s getting better at the things that I would regard as his deficiencies, but he’s trying and improving, and his contributions since the start of the season have been excellent.”
“I thought Ryan [Loft] up front lead the line brilliantly and worked tirelessly,” he added. “We made a slight amendment in the midfield shape, in terms of our possession and our immediate press, and we played Stefan Scougall in a slightly more advanced position.
“The boy was amazing in that position and he covered some real distance. His contribution in the 90 minutes was quite amazing.”
