Ammies eye third win on the bounce
MANAGER Graham Alexander has praised the character of his Salford City players ahead of their showdown with Oldham Athletic, as they target a third straight victory in a week.
Latics visit the Peninsula Stadium this afternoon with their opponents in the midst of a hot streak, with the Ammies securing impressive victories away at Forest Green and at home to League One Accrington Stanley – in the EFL Trophy – within the space of four days.
Alexander admitted that it’s been a promising week so far: “It’s not over yet though. The lads’ efforts and commitment to their jobs is never questioned by me – they train exceptionally hard and they try to put that into games.
“We don’t always reach the levels we expect from ourselves, but it’s not through a want of trying or a lack of effort. We’ve seen the spirit in those two games; two different competitions and tasks, but both very tough, and we’ve come out victorious in both.
“We’ve seen different types of performances to win both games – we’ve shown the quality to score good goals and defend very well, and then the commitment and sheer desire to win a game at the end when we’re under pressure is brilliant to see.” Despite Salford’s resurgence in form, catalysed by five incomings from a higher level, Alexander is still eager to see further improvement as the Ammies eye a late push into the promotion picture.
He said: “We know there’s still a long way to go, certainly in the league season, but there’s no negatives in winning games.
“We want to try and win as many as we can from now until the end of the season, see what we do and then judge our season at the end.
“We understand where we need to improve – we’re trying to make those improvements within the players we have and with the additions which we’ve seen in the last few weeks, but we’ve still got the same ambitions that we’ve always had and that will never change.
“There’s always going to be challenges throughout the future of this club.
“It’s about being composed and understanding where those challenges lie and how we overcome them.
“Hopefully we’ll continue to win games and show the strength and quality of Salford.”
Meanwhile, Salford City have completed the loan signing of United youngster George Tanner.
The 20-year-old full-back joins until the end of the season.