Manager's Post Match Comments: Enfield Town

I thought I’d bring my super-sub linesman on and get three points. It’s the best substitute we’ve had all season," said James Bracken following the 2-0 win at Enfield Town.

In seriousness, when you get those prolonged breaks in the game, you wonder which team will better adjust to the circumstances. I’ve had both. I’ve had teams come out after a lengthy break and hit the gas like we did today. Likewise, I’ve had sides who never got going again and it’s cost us.

I was grateful we managed to seize the initiative and get on the front foot. I thought the subs had a positive impact on the match and turned it in our favour after Enfield had a good ten-minute spell. We were well worth our win.

Would we have taken a draw when the referee sustained his injury with ten minutes left? No – my stance is always to try and win every game. That’s why we rarely draw.

If we’re 0-0 with ten to go, I’ll always make positive changes in an attempt to win. If you do that in three games and you win one of them, that’s as good as three draws. It’s also what people pay to watch. As a fan, I’d want to see my Manager picking a player off the bench that can win you a game. You have a throw of the dice.

We played the better football. Like last week, we were the only team who tried to play. We got the ball down and played through the thirds. We let the boys express themselves which was nice.

We’re one game away from an unbeaten month in January. That’s now our focus. A third win on the spin would be very welcome but Bognor Regis will be another tough game.

I’ve spoken to the lads about intensity – our training intensity has improved. There’re no excuses. When the games were coming thick and fast, there wasn’t time to prepare for the next match. It’s also physically demanding on players. When you’re winning, you ride it but when you lose, it’s hard to reach those levels again. Now, with a lack of midweek fixtures, we have time to prepare. We’ve now had time to do our research, work at it in training and that’s probably why the results are coming our way again. To be fair to the players, they’ve stepped up when they needed to.
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It’s great to provide these moments for the likes of Roger (Stringer) and the supporters. Some of these fans have supported the club when it wasn’t in the best of places, struggling most weeks and getting turned over more often than not. These are now the good times and people like Roger deserve that more than most. There’s plenty of supporters that deserve these moments and hopefully they last a lifetime in memories.