By Brian Bennett
Ashington manager Nick Gray remained upbeat despite his sides 3-1 defeat against Cleethorpes Tonw on Saturday.
As the countdown to the last six games begins, Gray said that the key message to the group of players is for them to understand the difference between winning and losing – and what it means to them.
“We were in the game today and the players gave a lot of effort – but we cannot keep saying that,” he commented afterwards, “All that matters now is getting points on the table and realising where we are in the league, what we have got to do and what we need to do – and I’m confident we will get there. We scored a great goal but we can’t give good sides soft goals and that’s what we are doing. I looked at the strong bench and who we had missing today and we’ve done alright but we’ve got to realise where we at. Cleethorpes are top of the league for a reason and I’ve got a good affiliation with them and I watched them in the FA Vase final at Wembley. I see where they are now and but they have got 140 plus advertising boards around the sides of the ground which helps to get good players on the pitch.”
Gray – who thanked the Ashington supporters who had travelled down to North-East Lincolnshire on Saturday – continued: “We’ve got to look after ourselves and today’s result doesn’t define our season but for the other games. we need to make sure we’re at it from the start and for 90 minutes – not 85 or 86. We have also got to deal better with the goals which we are conceding. People have got to realise you can have a good game for 89 minutes but if you make a mistake and it costs a goal, the 89 minutes is forgotten about and it’s the one minute lack of concentration or wrong decision making which is remembered. The biggest positive we can get at this time of the season is the result and I think we’ve got the capabilities to see us through. I think we have got a good squad but that means nothing now – it’s about what they (the players) have got in terms of character, application, attitude and work ethic.”
He added: “We’re in a bit of a mix and we’ve got to start to realise that. We’ve come face to face with the league leaders today who are in a cup final on Tuesday and good luck to them. We’ve got six league games left and we’ll take each one as it comes. We are capable of winning every game but equally we’re capable of losing every one and it’s fine lines. We’ve just got to make sure how we win games of football. Today there were a lot of positives. Jamies Holmes is another game fitter; Liam Henderson was excellent and gave us a presence up top which we have been lacking a lot this season and the way Liam plays, it gives other players better runs to make. I also thought the midfielders worked hard whilst defensively you get judged on how many goals you concede and the lads have done alright for the majority of the game.”