Boss looks for consistency in performances after draw with Hartlepool United.
Manager Adam Murray believes that itâs important our side find a level of consistency and improve on defensive lapses during periods of game.
Our boss was speaking after todayâs 1-1 draw with Hartlepool United â a game which we led courtesy of Junior Brownâs 10th minute strike before the Pools equalised shortly after half-time.
â[Frustration] was again the major word and I think the performance showed where we are as a team at the minute,â reflected Murray.
âInconsistency of being really good and being really bad is where we are as a group at the minute. We go from big highs to major lows and to do anything and succeed, you have to have consistency.â
He continued: âWeâll create chances now â Iâve no doubts about that, but a big thing Iâve spoken about over the last few weeks is being ruthless in both boxes.Â
âAt the minute, we go through the motions of playing at 60 and 70% and itâs not good enough. The good things we did at points in the first half, kind of went out of the window in the second half.â
On the Poolsâ equaliser, Murray said: âPeople are saying there was a deflection, but the ball shouldnât be coming into our box and the ruthlessness of our defending and the ruthlessness of being clinical at the other end needs to be upped.â
The game ended with both teams short on players as defender Ryan Tafazolli was shown a second yellow card, before Marlon Harewood and Michael Woods were red carded for Hartlepool late on.
On Tafazolliâs dismissal, the boss added: âIf Iâm being honest for both yellow cards, I donât think he needed to do what he did, so itâs a massive learning curve for him.â
Another talking point from the game occurred just before the hour mark when a header by Matt Rhead ricocheted off the upright and appeared to cross the line, but no goal was awarded.
Reflecting on the incident, Murray said: âFrom where I was standing it looked like it had crossed the line, but Iâm a long way away on the touchline, so itâd be unfair for me to comment.â
As we approach the midway point in the season, our team still occupy 16th spot in Sky Bet League Two â eight points above the drop zone, but 10 points adrift of the play-off positions.
Looking ahead, our manager said: âWe canât keep giving ourselves these mountains to climb and expect to be successful and compete at the higher end of the table.
âWe need to be realistic at where we are. Weâre not a team at the minute that is going to break into that top section and compete â weâre in a battle and a challenge for this season.
âThe main thing is that every point weâre getting is important and weâre trying to get them points on the board quickly, because where we are in our journey, weâre a yo-yo team at the minute and we need to level that out.â
Â