SAINTS EAGER TO ATONE FOR SINS

Allinson seeks more clinical edge at home

IAN Allinson says St Albans City must rein in the fancy football to rectify the abysmal home form that wrecked last season.

Slick and attractive but rarely incisive, the Saints would have finished eighth based purely on points gained away from home.

Yet Allinson’s men won just three matches at Clarence Park, the joint fewest across all three divisions of the National League.

They eventually finished 20th, their worst placing since promotion to National League South in 2015.

“That was something we didn’t expect,” admits Allinson,

62, right, who had previously notched three successive top-half finishes.

“We let ourselves down badly at home. It wasn’t good enough and that’s something I’ve looked at. How can we change the way we play? What kind of players do we need?

“Away from home, we were four points off Wealdstone based on points-per-game. Yet Wealdstone won the league and we finished 20th.

“That comes down to scoring more goals. Putting teams under more pressure. Keeping the back door shut. All things we didn’t do at home. “Looking at it, I think we probably overplayed in the wrong areas. It’s a shame because we played really good football but ended up going nowhere. “We had some really good technical footballers. Very calm, comfortable on the ball. But did we go and hurt the opposition? I don’t think we did.

“Don’t get me wrong, I still want them to play. I still want players to be expressive and enjoy themselves. But it has to be in the right places, and it has to be geared towards scoring goals.”

Options

One player who had no trouble in that respect is Joe Iacifano, the striker whose 17 goals saw him finish the curtailed campaign as joint-top scorer in National League South.

But the 21-year-old was often left to plough a lone furrow and Allinson has spent the summer bolstering his attacking options.

Chid Onokwai arrived from Haringey Borough, whilst Joseph Chidyausiku and Shaun Jeffers – who scored 13 times last season – were plucked from divisional rivals Chelmsford City.

“With Shaun and Joseph, I spoke to (ex-Chelmsford manager) Rod Stringer at length,” added former Arsenal, Luton and Colchester winger Allinson. “He and I both felt that they were players who would improve us.

“Shaun is proven. Joe is 22, trying to break into the National League.

“He didn’t really get the opportunities playing behind Shaun and Leroy Lita last season, but he’s got the ability to be a real handful in this league.

“And Chid’s record at Haringey was very good. I think he scored ten in ten until he picked up an injury. At FC Romania he was getting 30 a season.

“He’s 6ft 2ins, and he’ll give us a presence in an area where we struggled.

“With the players we’ve retained, there’s a lot of optimism around.

“What’s our aim? Every time you start a season, your aim is to win the league. You soon find out whether that is realistic or not.

“But it would be great if we could make the play-offs. And if we can play consistently like we did away from home, we’ll have a chance.”