We can’t lose to top teams: Jim
STOCKPORT County manager Jim Gannon has set his side the target of not losing to any teams in the top six for the rest of the season.
The Hatters have been in decent form over the last few weeks, and were in eighth place ahead of their midweek game against Brackley as the Express went to print on Tuesday.
It means that County are firmly in the hunt for the play-offs, and Gannon insists they cannot afford to lose to any of the other teams in contention if they are to give themselves the best chance of earning promotion.
“What is super critical to us is that we don’t lose to anybody in the top six,” he told the club’s official website.
“We managed to get that done against Halifax on Saturday and while it may have only been one point for us, it is two points off our challengers.
“Once we have Brackley out of the way then we are in a month against some big sides where we need to step up our game and start looking to win these matches.”
Stockport’s game against Halifax on Saturday finished 0-0, with both sides having to settle for a share of the spoils at the Shay.
While Gannon was glad that his side got something from the match, he felt that the performance was not good enough.
“I was disappointed with our performance as there was so much there last weekend that wasn’t there in this game,” he said.
“A 0-0 was the last thing I expected after seeing our game and Halifax’s game last weekend, but we were a bit out of sorts.
“I think that was due to the nature of the game, as it was very rushed with a lot of high pressing and high tempo challenges that disturbed the flow.
“Our set-plays, goal kicks and free kicks seemed to go straight to their goalkeeper, and there was loads of stuff we looked at on Thursday and didn’t do, so I was disappointed the players didn’t bring that as if they did then it would have put them in a position to win the game. Due to all of that, a draw is a fantastic result when you consider the way that we played in the game.”
This weekend sees Stockport back at Edgeley Park, hosting local rivals Stalybridge Celtic, who currently sit second bottom of the table.
The two teams have already met once this season, with County picking up a 3-1 win away from home in the reverse fixture back in August.
That match comes after Stockport could have climbed into the play-offs if they managed to get victory over Brackley on Tuesday, but Gannon was expecting a difficult clash.
Speaking ahead of the game against Brackley, he said: “It’s a tough place to go but we will go there with a good game plan and the pressure is on Brackley to win.
“The way I look at it, they were four points behind Halfiax with three games in hand, but some managers may prefer the points rather than the three games, especially when they include Kidderminster and Salford.
“We had a few lads looking leggy against Halifax so we will try to shrewdly use the squad and get the extra bit of energy without losing what we are.”
‘What is super critical to us is that we don’t lose to anybody in the top six’