Ahead of our final away game of the season, we spoke to Warren Feeney, who discussed the importance of creating chances, what the fans “want to see,” and more…
On last weekend’s draw versus Salisbury:
We came away from the game disappointed that we didn’t win, but on the flip side the chances that we created show that we’re heading in the right direction. Looking at where we were when I first came in, we hadn’t won a league game at home all season or scored at home before the 70th minute – those are two massive hurdles to overcome. But, we’ve managed to do that.
On the effect our injuries had on the result:
You look at the players we had out on Saturday, and the changes we had to make, that disjointed us a little, especially when we had to take our centre-back off and move one of our goalscorers to centre-back. But, despite that, there are still a lot of positives we can take from the game.
On missing the chances we created:
You’ve got to create chances to miss them. I won’t shout at a player for missing a chance – I’ve been there myself as a player – and I would be more worried if we weren’t creating any chances, but we are. The boys are being competitive and that’s all I can ask for.
On allow the players to “express themselves:”
I won’t be one of those managers with a laptop on the sideline and telling my players exactly where to pass – they only seem to coach themselves – but I will be making sure that they go out onto the pitch with a smile on their face. I want them to express themselves, because if my winger takes on a man and loses the ball 19 times out of 20, the one other time could lead to a goal. I don’t want my players to be robots. Football is a very simple game – looking at all four goals on Saturday it came from the defending team not defending their boxes.
On the growing relationship between the players and the fans:
The players could’ve downed tools, but instead they gave the fans an entertaining game. That’s all the fans asked for at the end of the day, and they clapped the players off the pitch. They want to see players running around and making tackles, which is what happened.
On managing our squad for today’s game:
It’s going to be a tough game. We are literally down to our bare bones. Looking at our squad, we have had players who are still unfit, like Euan Pollock who still isn’t able to train with us, make the bench and even play during the game. That’s how many players we’ve lost. But, that doesn’t change our attitude. We’ll be looking to win.
On managing tough away crowds:
I was around this area during my playing days, at Plymouth Argyle, a club I still have a soft spot for. They were a great club with a great fanbase – I know how passionate fans from this part of the country are. But, all we can do is worry about ourselves and put a team out that is still competitive.
