Sol’s ‘get clinical’ call for Silkmen
MACCLESFIELD Town manager Sol Campbell has told his players they need to be singleminded and clinical in front of goal following their 1-0 defeat at Exeter City on Saturday.
Despite a decent showing from the visitors, Exeter scored a somewhat fortunate late winner through Ryan Bowman to earn the win against Macc, meaning the Silkmen opened their League Two campaign with a defeat.
While Exeter’s goal may have had a stroke of good fortune due to the ball bouncing off Bowman and into the net, Campbell felt his side still
needed to be more clinical.
“I think that’s going to happen when we don’t put our chances away. We had some good possession and good passing play but if we don’t convert our chances then this can happen,” he told the club’s official website.
“It’s a ricochet that’s come off his shin so it’s a cruel way to lose. I thought it was going to finish as a 0-0 draw, but we’ve got to keep going to the last second.
“The positive thing for me is we played some good football, but we need to convert the chances that we create in the final third.
“We had opportunities to test the goalkeeper. We need to be more goalhungry and realise when were in good positions.
“Every single forward should be wanting to score or be looking for an opening and we did that, but it’s the finishing touches that we need to get better at.
“We tried, we definitely tried as a team. We played well and we had our chances but so did Exeter. If we took our chances early on, then I think it would’ve been a different game.
“They’re a good footballing side so we didn’t want them to play too much, but it’s the first game of the season so everybody is still getting to their full fitness and nobody is there yet.
“The most important thing is to work hard, work for your mates and the team. That’s what the lads have done today by putting a great shift in and they all gave 100 per cent.”
Macclesfield will look to return to winning ways in their second league game when they welcome Leyton Orient to the Moss Rose this weekend, and Campbell is hoping to see some fight from his players.
“It’s a long season and we’ve got to get points on the board and get some momentum going. We need to keep fighting in every game we play,” he said.
“We’ve got a great bunch of lads here, so we’ve just got to get a little bit fitter in some areas and become more clinical in others.
“I think if we do that then we’ll be alright.”
Campbell bolstered his squad ahead of the opening game with the sdigning of youngster Theo Archibald and the experienced Jay Harris.
“Theo’s a young gun, he’s got tenacity, he’s got bags of energy and he wants to learn,” said Campbell. “I think he will be very good for us in a sense that his enthusiasm for the game and his work ethic is impeccable.
“Obviously he has to learn, he’s a young lad wanting to make a career, but the main thing is the attitude is there.
“He’s a fit lad as well, he can get up and down easily but he just needs games, he needs positional sense, but if he listens and learns, he’s a great player for the future.
“The main thing for me that Jay brings is experience. He’s played with Tranmere and been a fantastic player for them.
“He brings energy, experience and I think as the season goes on that will kick-in big time in some of the important games, once everyone is fully fit and understanding the type of football we want to play.”