Notts County goalkeeper Sam Slocombe provided his overarching thoughts on the Magpies' pre-season preparations ahead of the start of the 2022/23 National League season, after winning their final friendly against York City 1-0 on Saturday.
Jim O’Brien scored the winner in the first half with some persistent pressing forcing a mistake before producing a composed finish. At the other end, the home side were restricted to only one effort on target all match, with Slocombe having a very quiet afternoon.
The York trip was the Magpies’ final pre-season game before their National League campaign gets underway on Saturday, August 6, with County back at Meadow Lane to face Maidenhead United. Slocombe said that the team are getting to grips with how he and the coaching staff want them to play, particularly from a defensive standpoint.
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“It is nice to get a win on the board before the start of the season,” said Slocombe. “Pre-season is tough in terms of the games because you have that many changes as it is about getting minutes to the right people at the right time.
“You end up seeing a few players out of position as there was in this game, but credit to all the lads as they’ve stepped into those roles well when needed. To walk away with a clean sheet and a win with a dominant performance is really important.
“How we’re going to set up defensively is something we have worked on in pre-season and what we can do off the ball. We’re still working through those processes and learning through trying them in games.
“To things coming into fruition on the pitch is really rewarding, and it is clear the lads are taking the advice in and trying to implement it in the games. I think last season we were fantastic in possession, and if we were a little better without it we might’ve been in a different position."
Moreover, Slocombe addressed how his distribution and involvement in the team's build-up play as a goalkeeper, reiterating the importance of County being adaptable to different approaches from the opposition and how that might affect the way he uses the ball.
“It is just about finding different solutions, if I’m honest,” continued Slocombe. “Last year, I was in possession of the ball a fair bit, but in terms of our build-up play, this year is a bit different.
“A lot of the players that played today were around last year as well, so we have the option of doing different things. In the [Nottingham] Forest game and early on in this one, because we are creating overloads in different areas of the pitch, my distribution varies with that.
“Teams are going to play differently against us, and some are going to come up and press while others might sit back and let us play out, so we need to have multiple solutions for that. This is something that the goalkeepers have spoken about with the coaching staff, and we’re working on it on the training ground and in games.
“I have really enjoyed this pre-season because the gaffer has worked us really hard so that we can be a dominant team this season. To reach that level, you can’t cut corners on the training pitch and there is a lot of hard work still to come.”
