ALUN ARMSTRONG admits his Darlington side need to win against Hereford tomorrow to kick-start their season.
Quakers have dropped to sixth position in the National League North table after failing to win any of their last six matches, and that has enabled the chasing pack, led by Gloucester City, to catch up.
Armstrong's side are now just a point ahead, mainly because they’ve thrown away points after being in the lead in their last three away games, losing two of them and drawing the other.
“We need to win, we need to get out of this little rut,” admitted the Darlington boss. "Every team has a bad patch in the season, a little blip. It happens from the top level all the way down. Once we’re out of ours, then we’ll kick on again.
“Our performance last week at Fylde was decent, and now we’ve got to concentrate on our own game. We’ve got three games in hand on some of the teams, and we have to make the most of them.
“We need to get three points, but we know that it will be a difficult game. Hereford have a new manager and they’ve got a decent squad, and recently have had some good results away from home.
“I know that we’ve got the quality to win the game, as long as we keep the back door shut. We shouldn’t have to score three goals to win games.
“We know what’s required, but the goals we conceded last week at Fylde were annoying again. That’s the story of the last half-dozen games. We went through them on Tuesday at training on video and analysed what should have been done.
“We’ve gone through exercises dealing with crosses and long balls. It’s not something we haven’t done before. It all boils down to desire and the determination to attack the ball and clear your lines. You also have to help your mate out. If we get that right, then we know that we’ve got the quality at the other end to win games.
READ MORE:
- Alun Armstrong admits new ground plans were key to contract decision
- Darlington and Scarborough charged with misconduct by FA
“It’s been simple stuff and the lads know that. They’ve been leaving the responsibility to each other when the ball has been coming into our box, and that shouldn’t happen.”
One big plus in last week’s defeat at Fylde was the return to the side of striker Andrew Nelson, who scored both of Quakers’ goals and is poised to start for the second successive Saturday.
“I didn’t want to take him off, because he’s so hungry to play having missed so much football while he’s been out injured," said Armstrong.
“His work ethic, his hold-up play and his link with Jacob Hazel were all very good, but I’ve got to manage him. If he has a little pull, he could be out for the season, and that will kill him. We’ve got to be careful, but he will play a major part in the season.”
Striker Jack Lambert (knee) and defender Kallum Griffiths (thigh) will both be missing tomorrow. Lambert scored one of Quakers’ goals in the win at Hereford earlier in the season, and almost scored from the halfway line.
“We did a load of work on the shape in training before the Fylde game, then five minutes before the end of the session, they pulled up with injuries," added Armstrong. "We didn’t have time to work on the shape again.
“We brought Ben Hedley and Jarrett Rivers in from the cold, but it was frustrating because we didn’t have time to work on the shape.”
Hereford have changed their manager since Quakers won at Edgar Street earlier in the season, with Josh Gowling being replaced by Yan Klukowski. They are currently in tenth place in the table, seven points below the play-offs, and have won as many away games – seven – as they have home matches this season.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here