Kennedy’s plan puts safety first N
EW head coach Mark Kennedy is under no illusions as to the top priority at Macclesfield Town – steering the club to Football League safety.
Ahead of the midweek fixtures, the Silkmen were in 22nd place in the League Two table, just two points above the relegation zone, and Kennedy insists he will do everything he can to ensure they avoid the drop.
“I think if you’re a manager, coach, director of football, chairman, owner, you have to have a plan and sometimes it doesn’t always go to plan, but there is no getting away from the fact that the short term plan this year is to stay in the league,” he told the club’s official website.
“If and when we stay in the league, that will be a successful year to us. If you look at the team, it’s a very good team and I don’t think it’s one which should be fighting relegation, which we know they have not been doing anyway, but with the obvious thing to happen the fact of the matter is that’s where we are.
“We are in the lower half of the table and that’s where we are and that’s what we have got to live with. I don’t want to finish second from bottom, I want to finish as high up the league as I can, but ultimately staying up will be the goal and in the short term that is absolutely a must.
“It’s a very unique situation, most managers that get jobs get them because something is not right on the pitch, predominantly results or whatever it may be, but in this situation the performances have been good, the performances have been strong.
“The results have been very strong although we have not won as many games as we would, but we are not getting beat every week and if you look at the table in terms of goals conceded and games lost, we are a very strong team.
“I am very fortunate that from a footballing perspective we are coming into a very healthy environment.
“We are a little light on numbers at the moment and every club will have an injury here and there, so we have to strengthen and improve that, but in terms of where the team is at and what I believe I can do going forward, I believe we are in a strong position.”