Devonshire looking to lift the Magpies morale
Maidenhead United FC: ‘Peters insists the right man is in place to turn form around
Alan Devonshire and Ryan Peters will be looking to lift the morale of the players this week after their disappointing 2-0 defeat to Altrincham on Saturday stretched the club’s winless run in the league to eight matches.
The Magpies had been looking to build on their goalless draw at Yeovil
Town in mid-week but instead produced one of their poorer displays of the campaign with Matty Kosylo and Tom Peers netting for the Robins in the second half.
Assistant boss Peters insists the club has the right manager and characters in the dressing room to turn things around and says ‘it’s just a matter of time’ before they get back to winning ways. However, he also admitted the players confidence had taken a hit following a run of six defeats in eight matches and, but for the display of goalkeeper Rhys Lovett on Saturday the margin of victory for Altrincham would have been greater.
United started the season with a couple of impressive victories, but it feels like an age since they were celebrating a 2-0 win over Dover Athletic at York Road on Saturday, August 28.
“Although we were tough to beat in the first half, we never really looked like scoring,” Peters admitted in a post match interview with BBC Berkshire.
“When we came in at halftime, we asked them to be a little bit more aggressive in their press and to try and get a little bit further up the field, but in the end the opposite happened, and they (Altrincham) grew into the game a lot more. Rhys has had to pull off a few saves, so they deserved their 2-0 win.
“There are always things you can learn, but you only want your goalkeeper to be man-of-the-match if you come away with a victory. That just shows we've allowed the opposition too many attempts on our goal and essentially, that’s the reason we lost.
“It’s frustrating, but the gaffer has the experience. He's been through runs like this before and will get it right.
“We’re trying to tweak things to get things right, players are coming in and out and until we find the right formula, we’re going to have to keep juggling things.”
Hastings United are the next visitors to York Road in the fourth qualifying round of the FA Cup on Saturday, a game that on paper presents the Magpies with an excellent chance to savour victory once again. Peters said the management team would be tweaking tactics and personnel as they continue to look for a shape and system which suits this current crop of players. Much of the squad were at the club last season but they do seem to be missing the guile in midfield of James Comley and the goalscoring prowess of Josh Coley and Danilo Orsi-Dadomo, who have progressed to play in the football league.
“We're alright,” said Peters. “But you want to win a game. When you haven't won for a while it’s always a testing environment and changing room.
“But we’ve got the right personalities in there and they will come in and be bubbly on Monday morning.
“We have to keep going until we get a win, it will come, it’s just a matter of time.
“The gaffer is always looking out for players who can improve and bolster the side. Some of our players are just a little bit low on confidence, their ability isn’t shining through at the moment but when it does, we’ll
win more games than we lose.
“The gaffer will identify some players who he’ll want to have a conversation with. He’ll pull them aside and let them know they’re doing fine, and it will come. While there are some others that just need training, repetition of the same thing over and over again.
“It will come but it’s trial and error at the moment.”