I think especially so for a manager like Neil

who has pretty much only looked to attack and play on the front foot throughout his career so far. I guess it takes several weeks of work on the training pitch to drill players enough that they work effectively as a unit. Particularly the midfield, so they can shield the defence well and limit the potential for costly individual errors. The problem with that is it means several weeks where there is limited time to work on attacking play and attacking systems.

Which is why these kind of teams often look most effective from set pieces - because that is kind of a short cut to getting a goal. It doesn't need the same drilling and training that more fluid attacking play would require.

With the forwards we have though, we simply have to keep clean sheets if we're going to stay up. We can't rely on having to score 2 or 3 goals for every win.

Posted By: Mecagoenti, Dec 5, 22:08:41