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00:00Kev, a convincing 3-0 win against Napier on an excellent performance today, you must be
00:05really happy with that afternoon's work?
00:07Yeah, again another performance that we've shown up in the last two months, but this
00:11time we've actually got the rewards as deserved. Clean sheet, three goals, three points, and
00:17I think some all-round good performances from everyone.
00:20So the performances have been consistent really since that Shearwater game, hasn't it? It's
00:24been almost two months now, that's Fairfield game onwards, it's been really good, and you
00:28say you've got the full reward today for what you've produced?
00:32Yeah, I think so. We do work on stuff in training, people say they do work on stuff and you can
00:37say what you like, but we do and we're generally starting to see things. Listen, Lamar's come
00:41and played again today, which brings quality and experience into the side, it really helps.
00:47We've obviously brought Al in for the rest of the season, who's scored a goal, and it
00:51just sort of tightens the group up a little bit when you bring in that extra bit of quality
00:55that sometimes we haven't had the ability to use. We've got them in our group, but there's
00:59not enough of a fit at the same time. There's nine people unavailable again today. We don't
01:04have a 23, we don't have a support, we made that choice ourselves, but it's one of them
01:08things where you can see the benefits of having good players in and around the group. Luke
01:14Perkins back in the squad again, Ed Dryden back in the squad, Scott Sanderson back. These
01:20guys were here six years ago when I started, so all the positives and it's just come together
01:25a little bit today and I'm really pleased.
01:27I guess it's always the dream to have a fast start, but to come and score within the opening
01:3230 seconds through Adam Poynter, I mean, that's just a perfect start really, wasn't it?
01:35Yeah, look, and again, the things you do say at the start is do this, do this, turn them
01:40around, go into areas that will hurt them. He did it, he turned them around. Owen kind
01:44of goes out into an area, delivers a ball, and Adam makes them run into the back post
01:48as a second striker. It's all the simple bits of info you give people and you go,
01:53I know what you mean, I know what you mean, but when they actually do it, it does work.
01:57To get that then gives you a good stepping stone to move on and be positive in the game.
02:03That's it, positives all round, but Adam Poynter has been a real positive consistently for
02:08quite a few games, hasn't he?
02:10Yeah, brilliant. Seven days coming from him every other week at the minute and he's still
02:15here, so we're doing something right, but there's four or five players that they've
02:20come in for regularly this season and they've stayed. I've got to say thank you to them
02:26for buying into what we do because it's easy to go, oh, I'd like to go somewhere that might
02:30give me an opportunity to play for a play-off or whatever, but we have a purpose for what
02:34we do and there's a reason why we do it and how we do it and people enjoy it, so hopefully
02:41they'll stay and then we'll see what we can do.
02:44So you've got Ali in long-term and that was a real nice finish into the bottom corner
02:49for that second one, wasn't it?
02:51Yeah, great finish and listen, he's involved in the other two as well. He's a nuisance
02:56and he knows how to play the game, he's come from a good level. We're lucky to have someone
03:01like that, but again, someone that wants to just come here and play in an environment
03:05like this speaks volumes for us really. Sometimes we don't see the positives because we don't
03:11always win and we know how good the performances are, but when someone then contacts you and
03:15goes, oh, look, I'd like to come and play here, you're like, well, that's presenting something,
03:18right? So that's a positive for us.
03:21Yeah, and obviously Lamar, again, helping out today and in the midfield, he obviously
03:27controls the game well in there, doesn't he? He sort of rubs off on everyone else really,
03:30doesn't he, around him?
03:31Yeah, we've got three or four lads on dual reds from Hartley, they really help us in
03:35terms of not having a 20 freeze and then likewise we do the same for them because obviously
03:39we give them an opportunity to get players minutes when they're coming back from fitness
03:43and it works both ways. If the game was called off today, we were a little bit light on numbers
03:47and Lamar was able to come over and some people say, oh, is that okay, is it not? Well, everyone
03:53else does it. You need to have a relationship where you can do that but not upset your group
03:59at the same time and today it didn't upset anyone because it was me that got left out
04:03of the squad, so it's the correct decision. Next week if we've got 18 available and Lamar's
04:08available, it might be a different conversation but listen, it worked for us today, I'm pretty
04:12sure it worked for Lamar, he got some valuable minutes in again and he should be fighting
04:16for it for Hartley.
04:17Yeah, so you tuned it up within 17 minutes and it was really bright throughout that first
04:21half, tuned that at half-time, the message would have been to keep going presumably and
04:25I'd say the second half was really positive as well, wasn't it?
04:28Yeah, look, I thought they were going to change things a little bit in the second half and
04:32I don't think they did. I think as a back three, they had a lot of time on the ball
04:36the way we set up but it didn't really hurt us because once we didn't let them play through
04:41us, they tried to be a little bit more direct and we dealt with that. I thought the centre-halves
04:46were superb today, I don't want to single anyone out but I thought the two centre-halves
04:50as a pair were brilliant. I thought Liam Marshall was superb, it's probably been his best performance
04:55here for us and again, 17 and just each week he's learning more about the game and how
05:00to play and how long we can keep hold of someone like him is a question that will be asked
05:05soon but the group is growing. Unfortunately for us, he's grown a bit late in the season
05:12than he did last year but there's no reason why we can't just finish in a positive position
05:16and just try and get right near the middle of that table and then go again.
05:20So yeah, Liam Marshall was a real threat throughout and a real bright spike. I know he came off
05:26late on getting deserved applause so it's a real bright performance from him.
05:31I think he's probably made the most appearances for us this season, 16 starts and 16 from
05:36the bench but the difference is, the decisions he's making now are a lot better than what
05:42they were at the start of the season and that's something that again, we were looking to do.
05:46Can we make him a better player? At the same time, we're trying to make us a better team,
05:49we're trying to make lads like him a better player. Look at where Trevor was a few years
05:54ago and now he's starting to get numbers and get into his game at step three and if that's
05:59what we can provide for players, when we can't provide the step three football because
06:03we won't get there or can't get there right now, then that's us providing a pathway of
06:09sorts for them to go and play better football.
06:12I was going to say, Napiel did try, George and Totto at the back were just real rocks
06:17weren't they and really solid throughout there.
06:19Yeah I think as a back four, again I don't want to single anyone out, I do say at the
06:23centre I was played well as a pair but I think the back four were good as four. Even Adam
06:27in goal, he looked comfortable with everything we were doing. Two in front, Matty, Lamar,
06:33screened and when we had the ball we were good. Adam, OT, Liam and Al at the start of
06:39XI, they gave us stuff when we were going forward and then every sub that's come on
06:43has contributed. Even Joe coming on the last five minutes, he's been feeling ill all week
06:47and to be fair, he was like I don't really mind if I don't go on but it was important
06:51he come on and allowed us to relieve OT and just make sure we didn't concede a goal and
06:56finish the game really positively with a clean sheet.
06:58Subs all made their impact and obviously Scott Sanderson off the bench at the third and it
07:02was a great driving run from Jamie Phillips wasn't it and down the right hand side and
07:06then cutting in and picking Scott out who found the corner.
07:09Yeah look, they've been here for my whole tenure those two and that's six lads in the
07:14squad today have been here since the start. Again, it says a lot about this place and
07:20the fact that they're still here and willing to keep going and trying to do things that
07:25we want them to do. They don't need teaching the game, these are seasoned lads but they've
07:30come in, they've done what we've asked and say Jamie's made a great run wide and you
07:35know he's not going to shoot, he won't shoot, he doesn't shoot but you then wonder what
07:39he's going to do and he pulls it back to Scott and it's a good goal.
07:43So yeah, another three points today and presumably now you're just looking to keep these performances
07:49going and kick on and see how high you can get.
07:52Yeah look, there's nothing now that we have to say is a target for us, it's just each
07:57game as it comes, try and get three points and then again we'll be going to Chipstead
08:01next week, trying to get three points there and it's going to be a difficult place to
08:05go. It wasn't a very pretty game here but if we can go there and perform similar to
08:12how we have today then we'll fancy our chance.
08:15Yeah, I was going to say you could go into that obviously full of confidence in a full
08:18week now just to build up to that game and attack it.
08:21Yeah, so again we'll have two sessions this week and then the following week we pence
08:24within a friendly because there might be a couple more new faces coming in. Again, we're
08:29trying to do things within our resources and what we've got, we can still finish as strong
08:34as we can. At the same time you know it's difficult, you've got nine unavailable and
08:38it's not people being away, it's suspensions or injuries and that's just something you
08:43can't help so you have to bring people in. The problem it then gives me is in three weeks
08:47if six people come back, the squad's too big again but we've never actually had that
08:52problem because there's always been seven to ten out this week.
08:55Again, that's another positive that you were able to absorb obviously all those absences
09:00today.
09:01Yeah, exactly that and it's not an easy job any level, step seven, six, five or whatever
09:07but my job is to manage the group and make sure that I keep as many of them happy as
09:12possible. We don't have many leave us because they're unhappy and sometimes it can just
09:18be for money or whatever and that's again, we've got to just see that as a good thing
09:23from the club.
09:24And just a word on another good crowd today, 2-3-5 and obviously they'll go home happy
09:28with that 3-0 win.
09:29Yeah, the ones that were really supporting us will and even the neutrals I think they've
09:32seen a reasonable game. We've won some games here that haven't been great quality but I
09:38thought there were moments in that game, five or six especially, where there's some
09:41real, real good quality play so yeah, really, really good.
09:44And obviously 2-3, always pleasing, not that Adam had a lot to do but anything he did,
09:48he did well.
09:49Yeah, look, does he have to make a save? I think he makes one and then the one save he
09:52makes almost goes into their forward but Tolu's then covering round and deals with it. So
09:58look, all in all, they're saying his save probably created their chance but you're a
10:03goalkeeper, you're going to do what you think is right and I thought it was a good save
10:06and Tolu's obviously covered him and kept pinching.