Outlook for Shots not bright after fourth home loss
THERE was little light at the end of the tunnel for new Aldershot Town manager Mark Molesley on Saturday.
Literally, as the players’ tunnel lighting went kaput, along with the EBB Stadium’s scoreboard.
On the pitch, things were a little brighter for the first 25 minutes but after Billy Waters scored against the run of play for Halifax Town, the mood in the stadium slumped.
The 1-0 defeat was Aldershot’s fourth home defeat from four in the National League this season, but having had just three and-a-half days with the players prior to the game, Molesley was not too despondent.
“The effort, desire and attitude has been first class since we walked through the door,” he said. “We are day three-and-a-half now if you include the game and there was maybe a bit of a lack of clarity at times because I was asking a lot from them straight away. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
“At half-time, a couple of small tweaks made an initial impact in the second half. I think it was more of a front foot performance in the second half, we created a lot more. We have to give credit to Halifax – they are a well-organised side in the higher reaches of the league and you can see why, but at the same time our goalkeeper wasn’t troubled too much and we were asking questions.
“We probably fell short of a bit of quality and there was a lack of clarity and probably too much eagerness to impress. That creates a nervous energy and we probably had that at times on the ball.
“As we evolve, a little bit of clarity will come and also a little bit more conviction in how we do things.”
The Shots were due to play Farnborough in the Hampshire Senior
Cup second round on Tuesday evening, after the News & Mail had gone to press.
Putting together lessons learned from the Halifax game with the chance to view more of the squad at Farnborough, Molesley thinks Shots should be in a better place for Saturday’s home game against Wrexham.
“We are learning personalities and players and we have to learn quickly,” the new Shots boss said. “We’ll pick the bones out of this, analyse it and be brutal with ourselves, but also work hard on the training pitch to try to get better.
“[The Farnborough game] comes at a good time where we can top minutes up and have a look at a couple of the others and the younger players in and around the group. We’ll definitely use that to our advantage, but as a manager it’s a balancing act with a small squad, should we say, as far as our more experienced players go. We wouldn’t be able to risk any of those with such big games coming up.”
While Molesley was glad to be back at Aldershot after more than six years, he admits the scoreline put a dampener on the day.
“I’ll give this job everything I’ve got and my staff will as well,” he said. “We have a way of playing and that will take a while to embed. I can’t thank the fans enough for their support. It was a really special moment for me that was quickly eclipsed by the result unfortunately.”