Joey, first of all, that was a really good performance from your team, particularly showing the resilience to come from behind and play so well on what was a tricky pitch.
Yeah, there was a bit of wind there so in the first half they played with the wind and we had to absorb that, but I felt we were in the ascendancy and we had a good chance from Scotty Sinclair in the first part of the game.
Their goal, for me, came against the run of play. It was a ball down the channel and you have to give the lad credit, it’s a good finish from Robbie’s lad Charlie Savage.
We were disappointed because we were just settling into the game, but credit to the lads, we didn’t sulk, didn’t mope. They are a team that hasn’t won a lot of games lately and we just had to be patient and follow the strategy and the lads got the goals.
John scored a great goal and it just settled us and I felt we went in at half time deservedly ahead. We were a bit critical of the lads at half time in that we had opportunities on the counter to get that third goal.
It was a case of starting the second half brightly and getting the third goal. From there, we thought it was going to be quite straightforward and barring the last 10 minutes, it was a thoroughly professional performance.
Can you explain the decision to take Luke McCormick off because it’s never easy for a manager to do that? It’s a significant step to make and I could see when he came off that you were not happy.
Oh, absolutely. He’s a fortunate boy, he’s a very lucky boy that James Belshaw has saved the penalty and if I’m Macca this week, I’ll be buying Belly a nice present because he has gone on and for some bizarre reason he gets himself involved in a confrontation and gets himself on a yellow card, so you are running a tightrope then straight away.
The ball then goes down the other end of the pitch and he pulls their lad down in the box and it’s a stonewall pen. He’s a very fortunate boy that he didn’t deem that a second yellow and then you get the penalty to face and you’re down to 10 men.
They are fighting for their lives. That would have been the gee-up this whole stadium would have needed and who knows what would have happened in those final 10 minutes.
Macca is a player who has had two relegations, one with us and one with Wimbledon. When he goes on and does that, you can see why because they are absolutely mindless decisions that he is making out there that cost the team. If you do that, you won’t play in my football team because we just can’t have that.
Glenn Whelan is 415 years of age, but goes on and absolutely delivers the strategy to a tee, Antony Evans the same, James Connolly the same, Ryan Loft the same.
We have got to have lads that are absolutely wired in and I get that you are disappointed that you are not starting, but when you go on and play like that, it’s self-evident why you’re not starting, so he needs to get his act together otherwise he won’t be at this football club much longer.
He was a key player you wanted in the summer, but it’s not happened for him. What are the things he needs to do?
He’s shell-shocked, he’s been shell-shocked from what’s happened to him and it’s only him who can get him out of that.
I’m mindful of not digging the lad out because he’s having a tough time, but he could have cost our team today and he needs to understand the ramifications of that.
I’ve never done that, I’ve never taken a sub off the pitch, but he could have got sent off and he’s a very fortunate boy that Belly saves the penalty and the ref didn’t deem that a second yellow because they were about to put three big subs on and launch it and we would have been facing the Alamo there from a game that was done.
I was putting Macca onto the pitch to get him some confidence and some minutes because he’s low at the minute, but he could have cost us there.
The thing for me is trust and he is burning through his chances of trust with me. When that happens, people leave the football club.
I love Macca, I think he’s a great kid, but if you are getting paid to do a job and you don’t do that job, this isn’t a charity and I won’t put up with it. I made a point there of taking him off mainly because I didn’t feel he was secure in his performance. I felt he was a red card waiting to happen, or certainly pull the team’s performance down.
There are many positives to take from that performance, though, and you were absolutely ruthless in transition. The press of the front three was so effective and you have got players like John Marquis to profit from it. He’s in fine form, isn’t he?
The goals will be big for any striker but his performances in recent weeks have earned him that. He’s grafted tirelessly for the team, done a great shift and sacrificed elements of his game to give us a platform to go forward and then, today, it’s nice to see him get those goals - two really good goals.
Consummate professional. Another one who Macca could take a bit of a lead from; he wasn’t in the team, Josh Coburn, Ryan Loft and Aaron Collins are getting the minutes, he didn’t sulk, didn’t moan, worked incredibly hard for his opportunity and, fair play to him, in the last few weeks, he’s certainly grasped that with both hands and he’s now become a big player in our team.
When you signed Scott Sinclair in October, we would have hoped for it to go like this but, five league goals, a handful of assists, a long-term contract signed, it’s gone perfectly, hasn’t it?
He’s a top pro, isn’t he? We’re fortunate to get Scotty at our football club - the Gas connection and being at the club in the past is obviously nice, it's sentimental, but when Scott’s had the career he’s had and played for the calibre of clubs he has, at the level he has, he’s not just going to come and play for ragarse Rovers, which I think it may have been in the past.
He needs to come to a football club that has a culture and a training impetus and feels that they can do him justice. Because if you’ve had his career, there’s no point just coming for the game. He doesn’t need to be here for financial reasons, he’s here because he wants to enjoy his footy and have great moments and he’s showing that every time he takes to the pitch for us.
He’s become a leader in our dressing room and his performances on the pitch - the goals and assists are nice - but his work rate, his team-ship and his leadership in the dressing room have been absolutely superb as well.
When Lamare arrived at whatever time just before the deadline, a lot of people would naturally feel, ‘we’ve not heard about this kid; is this just a rash one to get a body in?’ But what a player…
Yeah, class, isn’t he? I’m lucky because my agent, about a week before the deadline, we were scrambling around and saying, ‘okay, midfielders, who do you know?’ and he fired him in. He isn’t Lamare’s agent but he came from the agency and he said, ‘he’s only a young boy but have a look at him, he can handle the ball.’ And you never know how good they are - it was the same with Elliot Anderson last year - until you throw them in. And Jarell’s in that same category, although I’d gone and got my eyes on Jarell live, so I knew the qualities he had.
Lamare, I just watched on the Wyscout clips, but you could see he was competent, could handle the ball and we needed a body in that area. I have to be honest with you, he’s better than what I predicted.
I knew he was a good player, Aston Villa thought really highly of him and they said, ‘look, he’s a game player. There’ll be things he does in training that will frustrate you etc but just let him go in games, let him play and he’ll show you what he can do.’
For a 19-year-old academy lad, the wind and the pitch… that’s what class players do, he’s a class act. But you look at that group now, you look at Lewis Gibson, Jarell and Lamare, Grant Ward’s been really good in an unsung hero kind of way, it’s bringing the best out of Luca Hoole, Lewis Gordon is looking better for it.
Having good players in your team can encourage the best out of those around them and you don’t win a game unless you’ve got a really, really good team. For me, the key is not only having a good XI but having a good 17/18.
Today was about our squad getting the job done and we’ve got to make sure everybody is absolutely wired in and understands their roles to play because if we’re going to be successful, it’s going to be the group.
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