Forest loss made Ammies change
GRAHAM ALEXANDER is hoping his Salford City side can build on an impressive start to their League Two campaign with the visit of a familiar foe this afternoon.
The Ammies host Forest Green Rovers, who inflicted a 4-0 annihilation in the same fixture almost a year ago to the day.
And Alexander reflected on how such a sobering result impacted their first campaign in the EFL.
He said: “It was a ‘line in the sand’ game for us. We had a lot of question marks over different things in the squad and different players, and we were trying to give them the best opportunity to consistently win.
“It was a difficult start of the season for everybody. We had a lot of players and these aspects have been well-documented, but I thought that game in particular highlighted the fact that we needed to make changes and improve the squad as quickly as possible.
“It was certainly a moment where the reality hit, and that’s not taking away anything from
Forest Green, but it all came to a head in that match and it made us seriously think about what we had to do to be successful in the future.”
Only five of the matchday squad who suffered the Rovers onslaught remain at Salford with defender Ibou Touray likely to be the sole survivor in Alexander’s starting line-up today.
The new-look Ammies impressed on their travels last weekend as they despatched Grimsby Town in another 4-0 display, and the boss paid tribute to his players as they look to continue their earlyseason form.
“We need to continue where we left off last week and the preparations have been very g good. The la lads have been upbeat and have an extra spring in th their step. They’re gradually improving and understanding how each other plays so there’s st still more to come fr from the group.
“With more co consistency of pl playing together, yo you get that m momentum. Th They’ve certainly bo bonded in a great w way off the pitch an and how hard th they work in training in is brilliant to se see. Their fitness levels are fantastic and we know the quality that they have.
“It’s about applying that in the right way and those improvements will happen, but it’s still early days. We’re only two league games into a long season, so there’s plenty of work to be done in the coming weeks and months to get to our full potential.”