Harrogate Town AFC

Watch the Gaffer's pre match press conference ahead of Saturday's contest with Southend.
 


The Gaffer on keeping standards high as we approach the final 10 games of the season...
 
I think we've got to always think about the long term picture as well as the short term. The players know we're an ambitious club and hungry for success. We've had some success in the last few seasons and we've enjoyed that feeling so we want to create more and more of it. 
 
We want long term success and we want success this season in the FA Trophy Final. We're not just going for a nice day out, we're going to win and we want to finish as high as possible so that we can pull on the strength from doing well at this level and go again. There's no room for complacency. If there's a lessening of intensity, it goes against the grain.
 
We‘re not just having a look at this level and thinking ‘job done' to stay up. That was the first objective but there's more than that. We need to assess what's needed to go again like we did after promotion from the National League North to the National League. 
 
We reflected and thought ‘right this is what we need'. We strengthened the squad and went again. That will be the case at the end of the season. Have we come up short in any areas? Where do we need to strengthen? How are we going to be more successful next season?
 
On frustration from recent defeats...
 
It does frustrate me because if you look at Stevenage, Forest Green and last week [against Morecambe], in the vast majority of those games we played some good football but we didn't win any and those occasions we came out with 0 points which hurts. We need to convert the chances that we create.  
 
We've had 35 balls into the box without making the difference and that does disappoint. We need to do better moving forwards. The victory we have [against Colchester], yeah we were more ruthless but that's one in four games. Straight away on Saturday, those are the areas we need to improve on.
 
On facing Southend...
 
It was a great day [in the reverse fixture] and we had to have a perspective that day that they brought in 17 new players so it was bound to take time for them to settle. They went for a different ethos in signing younger players and it was probably the right time and place for us to have our first fixture. 
 
They're scrapping now and have beaten some good teams in the last few months. It's inevitable that with our pitch it won't be a pretty affair because the pitch isn't conducive for good passing but we have to find a way to win.
 
We just have to try and win the game by doing what we have to on our pitch. We have to create as many chances as last week but need to convert more of them. We can't afford the odd blip and as a defensive group we can't go ‘well we're doing it well most of the time but we're not converting chances that's why we're not winning games'.
 
It's a team effort and we need to do better at both ends and in midfield, not get disappointed if we're not playing as much. We have to do our jobs, make sure we win more second balls, distribute the ball sensibly and create more chances but overall the attitude of the players hasn't diminished. 
 
They still want it but we need to be more ruthless in both boxes going forward in the last 10 games and that's what we're looking for. We want individuals to come through and really grab the moment. 
 
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