Wilder’ hails the attitude of his players after victory
THE manner of the victory, the performance overall and the attitude of the players were the three big positives Chris Wilder took from his side’s impressive 3-0 win over Morecambe yesterday evening.
It was a dominant display from Boro which included some really neat, flowing football and proved the perfect response to the disappointing performance last time out against Braga in Portugal.
Offering his verdict, Wilder said: “The mentality of the game set by the players from the first minute was great. We knew we’d have a lot of the ball and I was delighted in our play, our patterns and our movements.
“A lot of it was good and I think that was the case from the off. Crooksy hit the post with a header within a minute and I thought that set the tone of the half and our mentality towards the game.
“These kinds of games can go one way or the other, and tonight we ticked the box of minutes played, on the back of an uncomfortable night against Braga. That was good in a lot of ways, good that we know we still have a lot of work to do.
“But the recovery from that to tonight was excellent and I was delighted. That will do us no harm in terms of the manner of the performance, the way we played and the attitude of the group.
“We got a clean sheet away from home as well. I know people might say it’s only a pre-season friendly, but we want to set the standards, so clean sheet away from home and with the ball some really good chances created.”
Summer signing Giles shone, as his impressive summer continued. Looking lively throughout, the quality of his delivery meant it wasn’t an issue that Boro are yet to make a breakthrough in their attempts to sign some strikers this summer.
Wilder wants his midfielders and wingbacks to arrive in the box and provide more goals this season too, and all three forwardminded central midfielders got on the scoresheet thanks to the quality of the Wolves loanee’s delivery.
Wilder said of the 22-year-old: “He’s come in and he’s made his mark. Yes, it’s his position so he knows but he is a young player and the end bit is the most important bit. We had that on the right last year and we wanted to tick that box on the left.
“We wanted competition for places so if Marc Bola is pushing him and if someone else is on the right, they understand they have got to play well.
“Ryan has come in and he wants to do well and he’s a talented footballer. I think you’ve seen today what he can produce. Whether it’s midfield players, wing-backs on the opposite side or centre-forwards getting in the box.
“We’re a team that creates chances and Ryan creates chances. He’s a good addition to a decent group.”