Ahead of Saturday’s league match at Bury Town (3:00 KO), manager Tim Flowers has looked at our opponents and given an update on three loan players who have returned to their parent clubs. He starts with reflecting our most recent match…
“I thought for the Halesowen game, in the first half we was competitive – we started the game brightly and scored early off a set piece, which was good – I don’t think we’ve scored off too many this season.
“I thought we looked fairly bright at times and got in behind them, and limited any chances they had up until the clearance off the line from Softley just before half time.
“At half time, we spoke about being brave at 1-0 up – and we didn’t really do that. We had two chances to make it 2-0 just after the break and then we had 10 minutes where we completely fell apart, and reverted back to what we have done under pressure in the past from what I’ve seen. We were not able to suffer and see things through and we ended up losing the game 3-1.
Are Halesowen a good team? Yes. Are they going to be in and around the play offs? Yes. But we shot ourselves in the foot with a horrendous 20 minutes in the second half and, in the end, we’ve got to be better. You can’t play well for half a match – we’ve played well in patches since I’ve come back but certainly not the full package – that’s something we’ve got to improve on.
“In terms of players, Charlie Pavey, James Sanderson and Godfred Boakye have gone back to their clubs following their loans – we thank them and their parent clubs for allowing them to come to us.
“Godfred has been injured, whilst Pavey has been recalled – I spoke to his agent and they’re looking to move him higher. Sanderson has trained with us once and has gone back.
“Kyle Rowley has joined – I’ve worked with him before and he has leadership qualities. He’s aggressive, he heads the ball and I know him as a person. He needs to come in and show us his experience and make us a better team from the get go.
“We’ve secured Rory Brown, who was released by Solihull Moors and became a free agent. We moved quickly to secure his services to the end of the season and I thank the board for helping me get both Rory and Kyle.
“We’ve had a lot of snow since the Halesowen game, but the players have trained on every evening possible. How they got home on the night during the Storm last Thursday, I do not know! But they have worked really hard and with a great attitude. I’ve been very impressed with the way they’ve gone about it.
“Have we got enough quality? Time will tell, but in terms of work ethic and attitude, I’ve been impressed. But, I’ve said to them, now you’ve got to win a game.
“I am trying to bring players in on a daily basis – we’ve got seven days in and all sorts going on but people look at the league table and see us where we are. Do they fancy trench warfare? I don’t know, but if we can get one or two in, others may follow, but me and my staff are working extremely hard.
“In terms of Bury, it’ll be a tough game. They’ve got a good home record – I went there will Alvechurch previously and they’re a good football team. They’ll try and play and they’ve brought some good players in recently. Jamie McGrath from Needham Market has come in up front with Ollie Canfer, and they have George Quantrell, who most people know at Step Three.
They’re a good side, but every side we face will be tough. They’re above us in the league because they deserve to be, and we have to try and aspire to do better and get above them.
“We have 18 games left – 10 are away and time is of the essence. We need to start showing some backbone and commitment during matches and do all the rough stuff. Then, we can try and get the quality that we’ve got to hurt teams.
“So far, the lads have given me everything and I’ve no qualms. We played well against Redditch and Stortford, but we’ve got to find a way to turn small defeats and draws into victories.”
