Alexander’s feeling positive as Ammies face New challenge
AMMIES boss Graham Alexander says he is optimistic after an impressive run of form, which included an unbeaten run at home in October.
Salford won three of their five games over the course of the month - losing just one - and Alexander has called on his squad to maintain that positive form.
He said: “Looking over the past month we’re quite content with the points tally we took, two points a game over the past five games is quite a good return.
“We want to maintain that – it’s a new month and a new set of challenges.
“Newport away is as tough as any, it’s a difficult place to go, they’ve got an excellent home record.
“We know the challenges we’ll face, so we’ve got to be prepared to compete at the best level we can.”
As Salford face the tough challenge at Newport, Alexander reiterated that his side need to stick to their own game ahead of a tough run of fixtures.
“We have to remember to play our game as well, and make sure that we go there and express ourselves and show the quality we have in our team and in our squad,” he added.
“I didn’t think we did that last week, but once we did do that, we created chances and didn’t have many against us. That’s how we have to start the games and play throughout.”
Alexander also reiterated how his squad must keep improving in League Two.
He added: “I think the players are in a good place, I think they know they’ve improved quite considerably in the last month.
“We just need to continue on that path of improvement. We have made adjustments and improvements I’ve wanted to make but obviously we’re still not at our full potential so that’s the challenge.”
Having made minimal changes to the team in their three games last week, the Salford manager also spoke about fitness and the good headache he faces when it comes to team selection.
“We’ve had a full week to prepare for the weekend, and we’re going to need everyone’s full commitment and energy going into the game.
“There’s been a little bit of illness with a couple of the players this week so we’re just going to have a look at them and see how they are tomorrow before picking that final team, cause like I said, we need as much energy as possible.
“We’re going down to a tough venue quite a few miles away so we have to prepare right and make sure everyone’s ready, so if those guys are okay, there shouldn’t be too many changes.”
Alexander also confirmed Chris Neal has returned to training but will not be fit for a number of weeks after his injury.