The International break has come at exactly the right time. Maybe. Or possibly the wrong time. No, I’m sticking with right.
We have, today, started a kind of pre-season that leads up to potentially the most important ten game season in our recent history.
Alex Neil’s initial impact has been fantastic in two areas, as I discussed previously, fitness and defensive shape. We’re now on 5 goals conceded in 8 games. More importantly, 1 in 5 games. But there are two things that feel missing that aren’t going to improve by playing games – attacking movement in the final third and set pieces, especially attacking corners (and of course the ongoing improvements to fitness). These can’t be worked on with Tuesday/Saturday games. They need academy of light drills and then more drills and more drills…
I think we have to accept that we’re not going up automatically, so the competition we’re now in is to finish in the top four out of six. And we’re starting from fifth with a poor goal difference.
To get into that play off four it looks like we’ll need to get at least 13 points from the first 7 games of the ten game season, maybe 15 so 5 wins out of 7. It means no more honourable ‘we battered them’ nil nil draws. Had we beaten Charlton and Lincoln we’d be third out of six and not looking so closely at Wednesday and Wycombe.
To have two weeks ‘pre-season’ before the next game is ideal. Time to work on set pieces and to work out why we are lacking timing in the final third.
If you look at a lot of the misses against Lincoln and Charlton (and the games we won recently), the problem seems to be everyone turning up at the same place at the same time – slightly panicked and rushed rather than planned runs, allowing one to create space for the other etc.
If Neil and team can work on this as effectively as he has changed the defence, the vidiprinter will have to spell the score against Gillingham. And I remind you, this defence includes someone many would have said was our third choice keeper (I wouldn’t by the way) and two defenders. TWO. The improvement is incredible.
Our corners feel random. I’m not one for obsessive corner routines but, against teams who have shown themselves to be weak against set pieces, they could make all the difference. Again, when better to work on them but wo weeks of relative peace in the sunshine of Wearside?
In those seven games we have to play Oxford, Plymouth and Rotherham so the tests will come thick and fast before, hopefully, those last three games. Our last three games ever in this God forsaken division.
Two weeks to get the results in seven games and be ready for all ten games. Alex, over to you.
