A fortnight into his new job and manager Keith Millen has turned the concerns of an away defeat at Northampton into real hope that confidence is returning following back-to-back clean sheets and victories in the FA Cup and Papa John’s Trophy competitions respectively.
With one of his stated aims when he took the job that of giving the team an identity, he admitted that he’s been pleased with the progress made in taking steps along that challenging path.
“We’ve tried to get the best out of what we’ve got,” he said. “We’ve looked at the front men and seen that we don’t have target men, so let’s get them moving and running down the sides.
“That opens teams up and there were a lot of occasions here [Morecambe away] where we found the pockets. It’s given the players options on the ball and hopefully the more confident they get the better the decisions they will make.
“There are a lot of good signs, and the last two performances haven’t just happened on their own, they’ve happened because there’s a discipline to what we’re doing.
“We have to keep going at it. It’s not going to be perfect by any means, but I know what needs to be put in place. The last two games were both different, because against Horsham we had a lot of possession and had to try and break them down.
“Against Morecambe, a good League One side, at times we had to defend and we did that. You hopefully saw both sides of what we can do.
“It’s all about doing different things when that’s warranted. I haven’t had a lot of time, I’m trying to change the way we work during the week.
“I’m trying to give them an understanding of what we want to do that makes them play their best games individually. The great thing at the moment is that players are showing us they want to be part of it. I’ve got competition for places, which you want.”
“What’s pleased me most from the last two games, and it’s not a fluke that we’ve won the last two, it’s because we’ve got a structure to what we’re doing,” he said. “Hopefully that demonstrates a bit more of an understanding, and when we’re out of possession we look hard to break down.
“That’s pleasing. And there’s more confidence. The more clean sheets you have, the more confidence builds in the players, and you can see that when we do get on the ball, because the passes are crisper and sharper.”
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