Widdrington: I’m not sure it’s dark arts, I think it’s experience
SHOTS boss Tommy Widdrington admitted it was a “tough watch” as his team’s National League play-off hopes took a further knock with their 3-0 home defeat to Boreham Wood on Saturday.
He admitted the visitors wanted the points more, adding: “You’ve got to give credit to the opposition at the end of the day.
“We both had something on the game, and you’d argue theirs is more intense than ours and that’s how the game panned out.
“We’ve had really good performances this season, not that many average ones, and one or two really tough watches – and that was a tough watch.
“That was one of the few games I felt, even though we’ve lost other games, that we just couldn’t work out on the pitch how to breach what was a really strong, positive Boreham Wood side.
“You’ve got to take your hat off to the opposition sometimes, and because of the occasion, everybody knew what was on the game, but as far as I’m concerned we’re still in the race and we’ve still got two games to play.”
And Widdrington believes it is Aldershot’s lack of experience that has cost them as they slipped out of the play-off places in recent weeks.
He said: “I’m not sure it’s dark arts; I think it’s experience. You know we are the youngest group in the division, I read somewhere the other day.
“Why are we so heavy on the cards? Our young lads react like young lads, blokes don’t react like that.
“On occasions we’ve picked up yellow cards like today for absolutely nothing, like you said people have been getting away with this or that, but as far as I’m concerned I thought the referee had a fairly solid game. “I just thought they were faster, stronger, more keen to the ball, and when they got their noses in front that doesn’t faze me, to be honest. “I know it’s frustrating for fans but you know the game’s 90 minutes long, we had plenty enough time. I just felt one or two lads, the younger echelons of the squad, they’re probably on a hill that if we try and climb to the top this season we’re probably going to fall a little bit short, but they’re living a different season.
“Last season they were getting beat most weekends, they didn’t have a really positive vibe around the place. Fast forward 12 months and we’ve made history in the FA Cup, we’ve had a shocking effort in the FA Trophy, but we’ve had a really really good go at the league. “My remit was, don’t be looking over your shoulder when it comes to January-February, all we’ve done is look up from whenever it is, November, December, so we’re the same as any other team in the top third of the division, but we’re having our poor spell now.
“It’s up to us, me as a manager, the staff and the players to not feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got two games to play and want to try and take six points from the two games. I’m sure, eggs is eggs, that anyone who was here, or the vast majority of the people who were in the ground tonight, want the same for us, so we’ve got to be collectively having the same intention.
“I’m sure there’ll be takers on some of our players after the season finishes, in fact I know there will be. So they are the punches we’ve got to roll with, but I wouldn’t change much from this season, I wouldn’t have changed many team selections as many other people would, but that’s why I am standing here with a suit and a daft tie on.”