It's been a promising start to the season for Concord Rangers and it's been a joy to watch them over the first games of the season. Concord are currently sitting in the play-off positions after nine league matches under new management for this season. How has Chris Search found the transition from managing the U18s to managing at National League South level?
"It's been a very enjoyable transition. Look obviously the level is higher with regards to the quality of the players, and their individual experience and knowledge, but overall it's been a very good experience."
During the first months of the season, there have been some stand out performances alongside some disappointing results. Is that down to having a young team?
"Personally I think it's down to a number of factors. Firstly, yes we are a young team. Secondly, we need to realise that some teams are almost full time, in regards to their training interaction time. We maybe get four hours a week with our group, where as other teams in the league are getting I would think sixteen-twenty hours a week. This obviously would play a factor, but we aren't complaining. It's just reality."
From watching on the sidelines, the team are trying to play more football in recent years. Is that more important than results? How hard is it to get the team to continue playing that way if you've just had a bad result?
"I think the way we play is different for sure, and it's not a knock on anyone previously on how they've done things. Myself and the coaching staff have a specific philosophy on how we want to play, and of course the results are the most important thing as that's what we're judged on, but I do believe we can get positive results whilst maintaining our preferred style of play. I understand our style of play may be questioned and I respect everyone's views but the boys are buying into what we want and so far things are going ok."
Looking back on the games so far, the St Albans home game in the FA Cup looks like a missed opportunity, as the team deserved to win the game. How disappointing was that?
"St Albans was definitely a missed opportunity. For me in the first half, that's the best we've played this season. Unfortunately we didn't get the result, and as much it's a frustration we can't focus on too much negativity. We live and learn and as such, it's a case of dusting ourselves down and getting back to winning ways as soon as possible."
Enough about disappointments! What has been the stand out result so far?
"It has to be Dorking. It was my first ever game at this level, my adrenaline was sky high, but the boys were exceptional and showed some real back bone to earn the three points. I was buzzing for about a week after that!"
What are you looking for the squad to improve on in the coming months?
"It's a case of fine tuning what we have. We have a very good group but of course you have to strive to improve all areas. To get into specifics as we stand it's to stay more compact out of possession and restrict the spacing between our players. Other than that it's just pushing to improve the small margins."
As a fan it's been refreshing to watch the attacking players take risks. Is that something you're always willing your sides to do?
"The attackers are the ones that generally win the games so we need them to play in possession with freedom and enjoyment, it's something we of course try to promote but I wouldn't say it's something we've focussed specifically on. The forwards still need to pull their weight out of possession and this is something that's important to the group. We can't have anyone slacking as our strength comes from everyone pulling in the same direction and working together. My key is to make sure the boys enjoy what they're doing and giving them the best foundations to perform."
No comments:
Post a Comment