As United look to turn strong attacking performances into winning results United boss Steven Pressley insisted that his side isn’t too far away having yet again seen a host of good chances created when the Cumbrians hosted Cambridge on Saturday.
“To turn draws into wins we have to tidy up in both boxes,” he told us. “We had a number of chances to increase our lead once we got in front on Saturday, and in our box we gave up moments where we know we must defend better.
“Ultimately that’s where games will be decided and, if we can do that, we’re very close to being a good team. If you’re creating chances, as we are, you have to be more clinical and you have to tidy up in one or two areas.”
“Football will never change in that the successful teams are those who are clinical in both boxes,” he added. “Their defensive decision making is good, and their use of the ball in the final third is effective.
“That’s where we need to tidy up. We must keep believing in what we’re doing because we aren’t too far away. We know we’re creating chances, and we’ll keep working towards making the good things we’re doing get us wins.
“Having said that, there were many elements of the performance I was satisfied with at the weekend because the players put into practice so many of the things we’re working towards.”
“We know the gap to the play-offs has increased, but we won’t panic,” he commented. “We know how important winning is and we’ll just keep concentrating on the next game, we won’t look any further ahead than that.
“There’s no doubt that we need to make sure we win the next game, and we have to be able to handle the pressure that comes with knowing that’s the case. The game on Saturday came with tension and pressure, but I thought we handled it well.
“You could see that in the way we passed the ball around and with the calculated risks we took as we tried to add to our goal tally. We were brave in possession and we showed a good mentality.”
“There was a lot to be positive about, but of course there’s disappointment when you don’t win a game,” he said. “That’s why we’ll work hard this week so that the players know how we feel we can beat the next opposition.
“We work hard with our fitness coach Dave [Waldie] on making sure the players get the right loads and the correct level of training, because we want to maintain the lads at a good standard at what is an important stage.
“We haven’t got a reserve game planned this week. Last week was a really good training week and we’ll look to do the same again. There are always things you can tidy up on from every game but, if you see the effort and application, you can’t ask for more than that because it gives you a base to work from.”
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