YOUTH: Morecambe match reaction

He said: “This was a good result for us but it’s another game where we started slowly. 

“It’s a problem we’ve had this season and when I look back I can’t actually remember a game where we have started at a good tempo. 

“Having said that, this was a good performance. If you’re going to concede then it’s better for it to happen early in the game when you can do something about it. That kicked us into action and it was 4-1 to us by half time, so you accept that it brought a positive reaction.

“Credit has to go to Jordan Parker because he made a save when it was 1-0 to them which was top quality. If that had gone in we might have found ourselves looking at a different story and he’s done that for us a few times. He’s a very good keeper and it’s good for the team to know they can rely on him in situations like that.

“Once we got into the second half I think it’s fair to say the Morecambe heads had dropped and it was really comfortable. We probably started to try things we shouldn’t have and we didn’t really take advantage of the fact that Morecambe were down in the dumps. I told them at half time that the game could be easy or it could be a slog, depending on how they approached it, and they earned the right to relax in the end.

“The slow starts have been something I have talked about at length with the squad and it’s impossible to find out why it happens. I keep mentioning that we haven’t really seen a fast-paced start so far this season and maybe it’s time for a bit of reverse psychology. I think I’ll leave it now and see if it just happens for us. It could be the case that they are concentrating really hard on getting off to a flyer and that’s making it harder for them to achieve it. 

“The real positive from this game was the fact that five of the six goals came from a back-post finish. In the game against Preston we had a number of deliveries which spun away to safety because we had nobody there to finish it off and I wanted to get to the bottom of that. 

“Our Thursday session was all about being in the right place to make it count and it’s really enjoyable to see the work you have done come to fruition out on the pitch. 

“With the six goals it’s great to see six different scorers, but I think I’d rather have one player who got five of them. We want to see a player who has that ruthless streak and who is a natural goal scorer. They are the ones who will nick a game by the odd goal for you. 

“I felt I had to make a change up front after the Preston game so I brought Danny Hodgson in. I wanted to freshen things up and he brought something different for us. We don’t have much in the way of height up front but with the way he plays the game it doesn’t really matter. He deserved his chance and he took it, so he’ll stay with us for the time being to see how it goes.

“He’s in a situation where if he scores and plays well every week then Whitehaven Amateurs won’t get to see him much at all. We looked at Danny in the summer and we felt he needed a year to develop. He plays for Whitehaven but we get first refusal on him, and he’ll be in with us full time next year. He’s a good player anyway and by doing it this way we will give him a heck of a chance. 

“With a couple of results apart we have had a very good start to the season. You’d expect that with a midfield trio like ours because they are all good on the ball. Jack Lynch and Kyle Dempsey work very hard and then we have Tom Berwick who likes to pick a pass. He probably tries a few too many of the Hollywood variety but all three of these lads are getting better and better. We also have Patrick Brough and Alex Salmon to add into that so it’s an area we feel very strong and comfortable with.

“We have a massive few weeks coming up now. Come the first week of November we will either be pushing on all fronts or I’ll be looking at what we do next season. We need to go and do well at Burnley and then we have a weekend where we can prepare for the cup games against Rotherham and Crewe. 

“Whatever happens the bigger picture is to aim for early next year and the target of bringing three or four players through who will give the manager a decision to make. We go out to win every game we play but our aim will never change. We want players who can challenge for the first team when they move on from their two-year youth contract and, if we achieve that, then it becomes a successful year.”

United - Parker, Gwinnutt (McEvoy 60), Minor, Staunch, Morse, Dempsey, Berwick, Thomson, Lynch, Hodgson, Brough (Clarey 62 (Peel 78)). Subs – Brass, Chisholm.