Barry Gray Newry City v Ballinamallard United post-match
Newry City manager Barry Gray spoke to us following his side's 1-0 win over Ballinamallard United.
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00:00So Barry, one little victory here tonight at the showgrounds, does this give us a thought on the game?
00:04Yeah listen, we probably had everything that we didn't have on Saturday past.
00:09A very gritty performance, chances of both sides, penalty decisions, penalty saves, sentence off.
00:18Everything that you don't want as a manager but the most important thing and the only thing that matters is the result and the three points and the win.
00:25So listen, players heard it from me on Saturday because they weren't pleased with just our overall general grittiness and our endeavour to want to work hard.
00:37And tonight we got that in abundance so it's a good starting point.
00:40And how do you reflect on the defensive performance you touched on there?
00:43Obviously you conceded an early penalty, obviously Conor Mitchell makes the save.
00:46There was a couple of hairy moments but obviously when you keep a clean sheet, that's the main thing isn't it?
00:50Listen, at 1-0 scoreline you always expect any decent opposition and valid matters to get to the side.
00:56You always expect them to come at you, they're chasing the game, they want something from it.
01:01We had to stand strong, we had to stand firm and yeah they had a few opportunities but so did we outside the goal.
01:08And I think you're looking for that wee bit of class and that wee bit of difference to separate the sides and tonight we got it.
01:18Going down to 10 men in the later stages obviously put a wee bit of pressure on us from a numerical point of view but we stood strong.
01:25And it's the character of the team and the players individually tonight that will please us the most on top of the result.
01:32Now Ryan McNichol has three goals in his many games, he's obviously a new sign.
01:36Are you happy with what you've seen from him so far and the start that he's made?
01:39Yeah obviously for strikers the most important thing that you want to see when you come to any new club in particular
01:45is to get them off and on the score sheet as early as possible.
01:49Ryan's done that, three goals, three games, three very tough games for us.
01:53It's pleasing and it takes a wee while for new players to settle in, particularly strikers because it's a form thing.
02:00But he's doing well and he's building his general all-round play.
02:04Each game with passes we see improvements and he still has a wee bit to go but as long as he keeps scoring everyone will be happy.
02:10Obviously you've only been in since January past but probably a big thing has been made about Nury not winning a home league match in almost two years.
02:17Just from a club perspective is it a sort of a monkey off your back defeat to get that result?
02:21I think for the people who sit in the stands you see their reaction at the full-time whistle,
02:26you see their reaction in the Dan 5-10 minutes where they played their part tonight which was to spur the team on,
02:34to make sure we got over the line in the end and that's important to them.
02:39It's not as focused from our point of view and the players' and the team's point of view,
02:43we just want to win games and every game for that.
02:46But when you're sitting here waking up and you're waiting for a very long time to see that win,
02:51I'm sure the fans tonight will go home pleased.
02:55Not just with the fact that we've won but that's important,
02:58we've rubbished that silly stat that now we can stop talking about which is great for them, great for me
03:06and more importantly to seeing what was vital for us tonight which was the team performance of pure hard work and ethic
03:16and that's what as far as I'm concerned from speaking to some of the supporters that's what they want to see.
03:22If we get beat in a week, we get beat but we've at least worked hard and we've given that endeavour week in week out for every minute
03:28and tonight we've seen that and now it's up to us to try and build on that and give them something to cheer about week in week out.
03:34The words you used there is you want to build on it, you have a chance now Saturday away to Newington
03:37and is it a simple message just continuing upon what you've laid tonight, the foundations you've laid tonight?
03:42We're no fools, tonight was imperfect in any way shape or form, there's lots of gaps that we need to continue to work on,
03:49lots of players in and out that we've changed the system tonight, we've changed the personnel in it and we need to get back.
03:57Games are coming thick and fast now and it's great when you're winning, Saturday we had a poor performance per result
04:02and it's great to be able to come in tonight quickly and try and put that right.
04:05We've put it right and it's great now that Saturday's only a few days away to try and build on the performance of tonight and the result of tonight
04:12because we need to go there on Saturday and see can we get the second win and that's what it's all about.
04:17It's nearly a case where you can't enjoy tonight or the result because it's a midweek game and now your focus just automatically swerves towards Saturday
04:25and that's the joys of football and it certainly is if you have aspirations to stay on top of the table.