Ahead of today’s clash at home to Welling United, we sat down with Warren Feeney, who told us what appeals to him about Weymouth, our winless run at home, and more…
Here is what he had to say:
On our Hampton & Richmond Borough result:
It was a good away performance, but we still can’t seem to put the ball in the net. As I made clear on Tuesday, if we don’t score at the right time we’ll always be at risk of getting sucker punched, which is what happened.
On if the club are looking to make more signings:
As I’ve already said, you’re only as good as what you have and we are still trying to bring people in to make a difference, but it’s difficult given our situation. The main thing right now is keeping the players we have together and competitive as a team.
On how the players have responded since Tuesday:
They trained well. They’ve been giving their all, which I’m pleased with, it’s just about finding that final touch which can win us games.
On how the players can get the best out of themselves:
As managers we can give the players guidelines, but at the end of the day winning games is down to quality. We just have to make sure we have that, plus a great deal of confidence. I felt on Tuesday we turned down a lot of shooting opportunities – I will never have a go at a player for missing a chance but they have to take those chances. It seems like that might be down to a lack of belief.
On Diamond Edwards’ debut performance:
I want to thank the club, Darren Moore at Port Vale, and Diamond’s agent for making this happen. I thought he was exceptional and you can see that he has a great attitude. He was a little tired towards the end but he was putting people on the back foot for much of the game. If I was a right-back I wouldn’t want to play against him with how quickly he moves his feet!
On the difficulties of trying to make signings in the January transfer window:
It’s difficult to add players during this time, because clubs don’t want to let players go for all sorts of reasons. Some teams are fighting to win the league, others are fighting to stay in it and so on. Our situation also makes getting players that bit more difficult. But, we need to sign the right ones for this team.
On our winless streak at home:
We can’t have the form that we have at home. That has to change. This is our home. As I said to the players, if someone tries to break into your house and steal your furniture you wouldn’t let them, would you?
It should be the same when you’re playing football.
We can’t let teams come to the Bob Lucas Stadium and think they’’ have an easy ride. That has to change – end of story.
On what about the ethos of the club that appeals to him:
Weymouth is a great place, full of friendly and hard-working people. It’s a place I want to continue to be at.
Ever since I first came here, I could see its proud history. The fans have been outstanding too. I feel sorry for them, especially with how this season has turned out. They pay good money and we need to do something right for them. We have to be competitive right until the very end. I’ve enjoyed my time here – this club has a good board and there is the potential to get stability back.
On Welling United:
They’re a club I obviously know well. I know the manager, Rod Stringer, and I have a great relationship with the chairman. I wish them all the best, although not tomorrow.
This is going to be a difficult game. They’ve made some very good signings, Jayden Davis and Daniel Quick from Eastbourne Borough, to name a couple. It will be tough for us, but we need to break our home duck.
On whether facing the same side twice in a short space of time has any effect:
I don’t think about those sorts of things. We respect every side and treat every game as a cup final. Plus, they’ve made a few signings since, as have we, so today will be a totally different game.
