Baker calls for improvements despite Leek hitting third spot
NEIL Baker says his team need to play ‘a lot better’ to win this weekend’s top-of-thetable clash.
Leek Town moved up to third place in the table, within touching distance of top spot, with a 2-1 win at home to Ramsbottom United on Saturday.
However, boss Baker was hugely critical of the performance afterwards, saying his team were onedimensional, sloppy in defence and lacking a cutting edge up front.
This Saturday, they take on second-placed Workington in a match that could go a long way to deciding who is promoted from the NPL West this season.
“If I’d been doing a report on us I’d have said Leek don’t play any football, they just look to get the ball forward, said
Baker, pictured above, after Saturday’s victory. “The report was that they (Ramsbottom) played with a high line so we worked on the three front players working on the back and get running in behind.
“They did that but we kept hitting long and high balls to them.
“We wanted to do that but not as direct as it turned out to be. I wanted us to work the ball, work openings and then get the ball in behind.
“Whether I gave them the wrong instructions, or they weren’t good enough to carry it out, I don’t know.
“We were so good defensively last week, but there were so, so many of them below par today.”
Leek could have won more comfortably had Tim Grice converted a penalty, but Baker was not too critical of his top marksman.
“I thought it was wellstruck,” said the Blues boss. “It was obvious where he was going, but it was a good save. He’s the only one who looks like scoring at the moment, so if he misses a penalty, I won’t knock him.”
Will Saxon missed a glorious chance to make it 2-0 midway
through the first half, and Baker says the attacker needs to be gobbling up chances like that if he wants to stay in the team.
He said: “I thought about leaving him out, but I thought he might threaten their high line.
“He’s playing with a lack of *confidence.
“There’s certainly not a lack of effort, I can’t fault him for that, but that’s not enough.
“He’s in the team to score and make goals but he hasn’t scored in five or six games. So he can’t expect to keep his place.”
Workington are in decent form themselves and although Baker does not see it as a
must-win game after Leek put together a run of 11 wins from 12 matches, he thinks a defeat could be costly.
He said: “Two weeks ago, it was a must-win game.
“I am not sure that is the case now - the gap is narrower.
“But we can’t afford to lose it. “We’ll have to play a lot better to pull off the result we need.”
Dan Trickett-smith could be in line for a return as he continues his recovery from injury.
Baker said: “It’s an injury that’s proving to be slow to go. He trained last Thursday and has improved.
“Whether he’s improved enough to start Saturday, that’s in the hands of my physio.”