STANLEY BOSS: WE MUST MAKE NET GAINS

Manager slams side over sloppy finishing Match report inside...

‘We have to work harder on our finishing, turn it into goals’

ACCRINGTON Stanley manager John Coleman has slammed his team’s recent poor finishing and insists it needs to improve rapidly as they look to end their recent poor run of form.

The Reds suffered another defeat on Saturday as they were beaten 3-0 at Southend United.

They failed to find the net despite having 14 attempts during the match, but only four of those were on target.

Coleman is far from pleased with his team’s efforts in front of goal over the last few weeks, and he wants the players to turn things around as soon as possible. “We have to work harder on our finishing and turn our superiority in the way we play the game into goals, and if we can do that we’ll win games,” he said.

“You could say there’s a great deal wrong if you’re not putting them in at one end and letting them in at the other, but I think in the overall play we’re not a million miles away from being better than most teams we play against.

“We’ve got to convert that into results, and the only way we can do that is by working hard.

“There is an element of luck but the harder you work and the more you believe in yourself the more you can make your luck change.

“I don’t think anybody can think that was a deserved 3-0 win for Southend on Saturday, and if they do then they’re deluded. The harsh reality is it was, and that’s what we’ve got to realise, we can’t just keep bemoaning our luck.

“I’ve had the same conversation after Rochdale, Fleetwood, Shrewsbury and Wycombe. So it’s not bad luck or just coincidental, it’s something fundamentally wrong with our finishing and we’ve got to improve that.

“Southend didn’t have to make many saves and that’s the problem, we weren’t hitting the target.

“Billy Kee put one over the bar after a minute, Offrande Zanzala hit one into the side netting, Sam Finley put one wide and then Southend kicked one off the line.

“That was all within the first 15 minutes and then they go 1-0 up. That’s four chances where we haven’t hit the target, and that’s been our problem, not just in that game but for half of the season. “That’s why we have a negative goal difference when there’s not a chance on earth we should have. “The stats don’t lie though and we’ve got to work hard at getting better". Up next for Stanley is a trip to Plymouth Argyle on Saturday. Stanley’s latest defeat has left them in 14th place in the League One table, while Plymouth are in 21st position, one point from safety.