Joint caretaker manager Paul Murray gave us his thoughts on the Northampton game shortly after full time at Sixfields on Saturday afternoon.
“I thought we played some really good stuff in the first half,” he said. “We put some passes together where we really cut them open, and we probably had four good chances. We’ve been clinical of late, but we obviously weren’t in the first half, and the second half wasn’t too good.
“It’s a good shot in the arm for us. We’ve been on a good run but now it’s all about getting a result in the next game. We’ll restart and try and get on another winning run now. It’s a bit of a shock to the system for the lads, but it’s a nice shock because they know they need to get back on it next week.”
“We’ve been on an incredible run so it’s nice that we’re still there, even after this loss. There were some positives to take from the game, I thought young Liam McCarron did well. He didn’t let anyone down, and the more games he plays the better he’ll get.
“Liam only found out yesterday that he was playing, and I thought he did really well for a young lad of 17. He was very positive going down the wing with the ball, we all know he’s quick.
“He was trying to cross with his right foot even though he isn’t right footed, but it was really positive from him. Ideally he’d probably like to play on the left, but Danny [Grainger] has done really well in that position of late and he’s been part of the good run.
“We’ve obviously lost Nadesan at the moment, and his pace, so we just thought we’d put Liam in there because he’s quick. Nadesan was making some good runs off the ball which have been a big part of our game, and Liam did the same today.”
“It’s always disappointing to lose a game but we’ve got to react in the right manner and be positive,” he continued. “We’ll go through it and look at what the issues were, but we’ve got to be positive for the next game. That’s what myself and Tommy are all about, making sure we remain positive and put in another good performance against Cheltenham.
“The lads are down after the game, but they realise although they’ve got beat it’s about going and getting a positive result next week. Like I said last week, you can’t lose two on the bounce, so we need a result against Cheltenham whatever happens. We’ve got to try and get on another run.
“We needed to put one of those first half chances away, if we had the complexion of the game would have totally changed. It would have meant they’d have had to come out at us with them being at home.
“Connor [Simpson] had a couple of half chances but did maybe looked a little bit nervy. He had a couple of chances with his head. It’s his league debut away at Northampton so it’s always going to be difficult. He’s a target man, so we’ve got to stick the balls in the box when we’ve got him and Bennett on the pitch.
“While Richie is still at the club we’ll utilise him when we need him. We’ve played some great football in the last few games, and that’s what we are really, a footballing team. We threw the dice today and put the two big lads on to try and get something out of the game which unfortunately didn’t pan out. Bennett is back in the fold at the moment, but if someone comes in for him we’ll see what happens.”
On the situation with Ashley Nadesan having played for Fleetwood at the weekend, he said: “I think the situation with Ash Nadesan could change over the next period of games. If he continues playing they’ll really see if he can hack it in that league.
“With him playing for them it now means he can only come back to us, so we’ll see what happens later in the window. You don’t know what will happen if we offer some money later in the month.
“He’s out of contract, so he’ll go for free in the summer, so it will probably come down to whether Fleetwood want to get some cash for him before the end of the window. It will only be us who can take him now, so we’ll have to keep an eye on that one and hope he has a stinker over the next few games!
“He’s already been offered a few contracts at Fleetwood, so I think he’ll ride it out and get a move in the summer. Fair play to him, because he could do really well in League One for the rest of this season and get a move to another League One club at the end of the season.
“We all hope he does well, but you never know what might happen later on in the window. We know it’s going to be a tough one, he got an assist for them, but you just don’t know whether they’ll accept some cash right at the end of the window and cash in on him.”
“We’re still trying to get Jerry [Yates] back, and we’re in the same position where he could now only come back to us,” he confirmed. “He’s been a big miss, so we’re still trying to get him back and we’re hopeful that something will happen there.
“We know we need to get in the transfer market and get some players in. Jerry is one that will hopefully happen, which would be a massive positive for us, and we’re looking at other options as well.
“We probably need another couple on top of Jerry and Ash. We’re trying our best and we’ll work within the constraints of the budget, that’s the way it is. Myself and Tommy will look at what we need and whether we can get them done on the right deal.”
Click HERE to watch an interview with Paul Murray on iFollow United now.
Click HERE to see a clip from this interview on our YouTube channel. Follow the same link for more FREE content right from the heart of the club.