As our league campaign begins this weekend, we spoke to Mark Molesley yesterday.
Our manager was asked about pre-season, the importance of our fans and more.
Here’s what he had to say on the following subjects…
On remaining in good spirits following our Dorchester defeat:
Pre-season has been good because it’s been tough. We’ve learnt a lot of lessons. Saturday was a bit of a mixed bag, but the result itself is tough to read. What I’ll always read is the players’ body language, reactions and attitude. That has never wavered, even if Saturday was the first dip that I could pull the players on. They’ve all set really high standards for themselves, although Saturday’s result serves a reminder that the standards need to remain high.
On looking to improve:
We wanted to feel exposed on Saturday, so we could look clearly at where we need to be better. Football is all about working hard and trying to improve, so that the players can find solutions in games. The club is looking for ways to improve all the time, whether that be players finding solutions in games, or the management staff designing how to overcome obstacles in training.
On balancing physical and tactical work to get the best out of the players:
It’s about finding the right balance in training. At the start of pre-season, a lot of it was based on fitness, where we started building fitness in bigger areas, before focusing on shorter and sharper areas later on. But, then, our aim was to build the players technically, to get them to play the way we needed, before moving towards the tactical, psychological and mental side.
The challenge for me and my staff is to test and improve every part of our players, and we work, at and away from the club, to ensure the players are stretched and supported as much as possible.
On gaining ‘belief’ from the players:
It’s so important that the players believe in what we’re building. You want them to gain confidence, and it’s important to get as many wins as we can so we can reinforce that belief. But, it’s also crucial that we make sure our belief doesn’t waver in the challenging times, too. We always encourage our players to be brave and open-minded.
On the team’s approach their first league game of the season:
Tonbridge is certainly a curtain-raiser, and we’re all looking forward to it, but our season will not be defined by our opening game. Our plan is to come out of that game better than when we arrived into it. The key thing is to keep improving, on and off the pitch, as we build that connection with our fans and community. We know that wins help that, and we want to send them home happy.
On the fans being used as a “12th man.”
It’s a term that’s widely used in football, but it’s so true. They’re part of us, and we’re part of them. That’s the feeling I want from our players, too. I don’t want to be a manager who harps on about previous times, but my last spell here was special, and a lot of that was down to the way the players were with the fans and community. We want to recreate that level of connection once again.
It’s a new group this time round, but we want to make our own history with Weymouth. We know just what it means to put on the shirt.
On the significance of starting the new season strongly:
This league is the toughest it’s ever been, with the amount of full-time teams. I don’t think I’ll be the only manager who says this. So, it’s important to earn as many points as we can; wins build confidence.But, the other important thing we must do is make sure we are ourselves and commit to what we’ve been working on.
On the message he has to the fans:
Thank you, as always, for your support. We’re looking forward to entertaining you, and we will need you every step of the way. Travel safe, and see you on Saturday.
