Ahead of tomorrow’s game at home to Aveley, Warren Feeney spoke to us about the attitude of “top players,” the difficulties of signing players, and more…
Here’s what he had to say:
On last week’s result:
It was frustrating because we matched Farnborough, but we came up short once again.
After we lost to Bath City, which was probably the worst performance since I’ve come here, I asked for a response. I got one, although we can’t keep giving silly goals away. The players know what went wrong, but now it’s about making sure that things are actually fixed on the pitch.
On what makes top players:
Top players get to the top and stay there – they may see a little dip in form from time to time but they’ll always go back to where they need to be. They also retain information in football, instead of a message going in one ear and going out the other, which is what we’re trying to instill in the boys.
On our realistic plans:
Weymouth is where I want to be. Results have been disappointing this season, but it’s hard to get a team away from where they’ve been all season. We may see a positive spike, but sometimes in football you just have to reset and go again.
We’ll be putting a plan in place next season for how we can move forward. I’m a positive person, sometimes you need to go backwards once before going forward twice, and that’s how I want the team to feel, too.
On the right attitude for the players to have:
I demand fitness in players. If you’re fit you’re mentally fit – that’s something I strongly believe in. They’ve also got to be ruthless with themselves and each other right until the very end, nothing is personal in this game, as long as they are doing it with a smile on their face and enjoying their football.
On the difficulties of signing players:
The winter transfer window is a hard, hard period to bring people in. A lot of other players are under contract at one club, on loan somewhere else, or have a manager who wants to keep them. There’s a lot of barriers in front of getting a player into the club.
Plus, with the situation we’re in, things are going to be that bit more difficult.
On tomorrow’s game:
Aveley are above us but, and there’s no point beating about the bush, we are the two worst sides in the league based on the number of points we have. We, however, just have to worry about ourselves. We’re at home so we have to give the fans a game worth watching. There’s pride at stake.
We’re treating this as just the next game, as we do with any other side. The respect remains the same and we’ll be playing to win.
On Aveley:
I’m sure they’ll be feeling the same as us, being in an unwanted position, so tomorrow will be a difficult game because they will want to expand the gap between them and us. But, as I’ve already said, we just need to worry about ourselves.
On the importance of not worrying about the opposition:
Every game is 11 versus 11. That’s how I saw things as a player – I knew that I was gonna give my all and not let my mates down on the pitch. I understand that there are big games, but every game should be approached with the hope of winning. That’s the mentality we need.
