The latest column for Altrincham Today from manager Matt Doughty, as told to Jacques Talbot
Saturday’s 3-2 defeat to Gainsborough has left us 17 points adrift of safety.
Without the silly defensive mistakes we may have won it. John Cyrus could’ve done better with the first goal, which was amateurish. The second goal: everybody shimmied towards the ball and left Kyle Brownhill on his own, so they were bound to score. The third, which by the way was Gainsborough’s only attack in the second half, was a long ball and our back four could not deal with it.
I’ve always defended our back-line whenever we lose a game because it isn’t always them, but I cannot defend them after that performance. The only one who I feel deserves any praise is Laurence Taylor, who deservedly won the Man of The Match Award.
Watch highlights of last Saturday’s defeat here:
I looked into the players’ eyes at half time and I could see a few of them were up for it and a few of them were not. I honestly don’t think some of them want to go forward with this club. If these players want to be here next season then they are going to have to start showing it, because at the moment some of them are not showing me anything of the sort.
There were some expletives and a few things thrown around the dressing room during half-time. I told them that they were going down after that first-half display and if that we play like that against Chorley on Saturday, then we will get beaten six or seven, it’s as simple as that.
Yes, I know 90% of the supporters will think that we will be relegated, that’s fine. But they need to stick with us until the end of the season.
I’m an Altrincham supporter myself and I know it’s frustrating. I love this club and when I see players out there who are not giving it their all, it really hurts me.
Obviously we need to start rebuilding for next year now. There has to be a plan in place and I’ve started that plan already by signing Sean Miller and Laurence Taylor. I will also I’ll speak to the chairman so we can assess our position, and we’ll take it from there.
Today, we travel to Chorley, who are third in the league and going very well. They have the best defence in the division but we will be setting our stall out to achieve that elusive win that I feel could trigger a general improvement in results.
Pictures: Michael Ripley
