County’s signings bringing belief – Gannon
STOCKPORT County manager Jim Gannon believes his side’s 5-2 pre-season victory over Macclesfield Town shows just what his side are capable of.
The Hatters put in a dominant second half display to earn a comfortable victory against a side one division above them.
While Gannon admits he won’t be getting carried away with a friendly win, he was still extremely happy with what he saw from his players.
“We showed our ability to compete extremely well with a National League side,” he said.
“Our second-half showing especially was full of confidence and belief - as well as physical, mental and tactical strength.”
In contrast with previ- ous, recent years, the Hatters have kicked off their pre-season with a settled squad. But those new arrivals to the club that there have been - including both goal-scorers against Macclesfield - are already making their mark.
“All six of our new signings have really added to the team,” added Gannon.
“And when you think that we had the likes of Sam Minihan, Scott Duxbury, Chris Smalley and Adam Thomas on the bench this afternoon, the squad already has some depth – although we are still, of course, looking actively in the market.”
It had been a busy week for County, as they also had a friendly against Ashton United to contend with last Tuesday.
The Hatters missed out on making it an unbeaten pre-season record on the road, as their earlier victories at Cheadle Heath and Altrincham were followed by a single-goal defeat to their Evo-Stik Northern Premier League hosts.
This third and final away-friendly, at Hurst Cross, proved to be a tale of two second-half penalties on the rebound - with the Robins converting theirs, but County’s George West striking his against the crossbar, in each case after the initial spot-kick had been kept out by the goalkeeper concerned.
County’s pre-season schedule concludes this week. The team were set to host Championship side Bolton Wanderers at Edgeley Park as the Express went to print on Tuesday.
National League side Barrow will then provide the final friendly opposition at Edgeley Park on Saturday (3pm).