United manager Keith Curle spoke to us about tomorrow’s visit of Notts County ahead of the Thursday afternoon training session at Creighton.
Speaking first about the upbeat mood in the dressing room, he said: “Performances set the tone of the mood in the camp and there were a lot of positives to take out of the game on Tuesday. We’ve just done a video analysis session and there was a focus on the positive things which have been taken from the training ground into games.
“Obviously another part of a session like that is to look at things you don’t like as well. We do it in the right order by getting the negatives out of the way first so that the players come out onto the training ground in a very good frame of mind.”
“One of the pleasing aspects of the game against Wycombe was the tempo we had in our play, right from the off,” he continued. “We got the ball down and we played the game in the way we wanted to play it. The first half was very close to what we’re about, and the rotation made it a very forward-thinking performance.
“We probably didn’t get into the flow of things quickly enough at the start of the second half, but we’d given them a lifeline with the free kick just before the break. We showed good character, stuck to our beliefs and got the reward of the third goal.
“With the goals they scored you can always find areas where they could have been stopped. That’s something we look at and learn from so that it helps us in future situations.”
Looking ahead to the weekend game against Notts County, he told us: “They’re near the top of the table but if you look at the last four games we’ve had you see we’ve been up against very good teams.
“There are no easy games and that’s why our approach to each one is exactly the same. When we do our jobs properly we think we can cause teams problems.
“Notts County are one of the division’s good sides and I’ve played against Kevin [Nolan] a few times. He likes to play a certain way. We’ve reviewed their last three or four games and their approach is based on percentages.
“They like to get the ball forward, keep it alive and get it into good areas quickly. They’re a real threat in the box and they’re reliable, consistent and dependable in what they do. They’re very inventive with set pieces and they’re comfortable in their style. We know what to expect so it’s now down to how we deal with it.
“They’ll be full of confidence even though they were knocked slightly with the result at Crewe the other night. If you isolate that result you see they made a few changes and other players had opportunities to shine. That probably means that their line-up will have a bit more in the way of predictability about it on Saturday.”
On the fantastic support from the fans through a sticky start to the season, he said: “Against Wycombe they could see their players were giving their all and they responded. They concentrated on giving their full support and also on giving the opposition manager a tough time.
“There’s mutual respect and appreciation because the players are trying to perform and entertain. They definitely played their part because they stuck with us and they gave us their all in return.”
“We know results haven’t gone our way but the performances are coming,” he concluded. “The time we have now before Saturday is important because the players have had a day off and they now know they’re back in work mode.
“They’re good professionals who prepare properly and they know they need to be at their best again, because they’ll be playing a team which is enjoying a good start.
“We have a couple of players back from suspension [Danny Grainger and Richie Bennett] and I know they’ll be chomping at the bit.
“Richie has missed three games and he’s desperate to show people what he can do. He’ll have learned from the disappointment of missing out and he’ll want to give something back to the club, his team mates and himself for that.
“It’ll have felt like a long time for him so it’s up to him to use the energy and determination to come back in a positive way and contribute in the way we know he can.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Keith Curle on iFollow United now.