It’s time to show some more belief – Wellens
AMMIES BOSS WANTS TO SEE HIS SIDE STRING RESULTS TOGETHER
RICHIE WELLENS is hoping to instil belief into his Salford City players, as he targets an upturn in form with tonight’s visit of League Two pacesetters Newport County.
The Ammies shared the spoils with second-placed Cheltenham Town in a scoreless draw at Moor Lane on Saturday, preserving their unbeaten home league record – one of only four EFL sides with such a feat this season – but Wellens was left unsatisfied.
He told M.E.N. Sport: “It means we need to improve away.
“You have teams that are set up to go away from home and pick up points or teams that set up at home to work in a certain way, but I want us to win every single game.
“If we carried out what we were trying to do, we would have caused Cheltenham a lot more problems.
“We were off it, so we need to get back to the training ground and make sure that we put on a good performance [versus Newport].”
Since taking over as manager 41 days ago, Wellens has overseen three victories, one draw and two defeats in Salford’s League Two campaign, with the club sitting one point outside of play-off contention in eighth position.
He said: “I’m five weeks into the job; when I had 16 months, I won the league, so we need time and a few more bodies.
“[Richie] Towell and [Darron] Gibson are huge losses; our options are limited if we want to tweak a few things but keep the same ideas. “We’ve played well in patches [but] I’m still waiting for that 90-minute spell of really fluent football. At the moment, I’ve only really seen 45 minutes against Bradford. “We’ve got loads of improvement to come, it’s about belief and giving players belief, but it’s up to the players to take it on board and practice.” The Exiles, who defeated Wellens’ side 3-0 in the FA Cup Second Round just over two weeks ago, head into the fixture on the back of a first loss in seven outings and the Ammies boss underlined the importance of their meeting. He noted: “The main thing in this division is that you don’t lose to teams in and around you.
“If you lose every single game against the top 10, but you beat the bottom 14 teams home and away, it’s 84 points.
“If you start nicking points and wins here and there against the top six, it’ll stand you in good stead.”
We’ve played well in patches but I’m still waiting for that 90-minute spell of really fluent football. Richie Wellens