Despite not expecting any further incomings from County on transfer deadline day, manager Dave Challinor has said he is ‘really happy’ with the business his side has conducted over the summer.
“I think we’ve changed the dynamic of the squad; we’ve evolved the squad in terms of how we want to go about things without losing our identity. So, I’m delighted with where we’re at, the only frustration is that we’re not in a position as a coaching staff where we have really really tough decisions in terms of who we play and how we go about it.”
Regarding injuries, the gaffer suggested that Tuesday’s match against Accrington Stanley in the Bristol Street Motors will be an opportunity to provide minutes to the squad.
Challinor also added that the game against Masnfield is the start of players coming back into the squad to build up ‘competition and depth’ which was outlined as the catalyst for County’s success last season.
The manager was also full of praise for Will Collar, who has started all three of County’s league games so far this season.
“Touch wood he’s in a great place, he’s started the season really really well, he looks back to the form he showed in the National League but he’s doing it in League One. One thing I’d say is a complete disservice to him is the fact he’s not on the scoresheet yet.”
Ahead of Saturday’s clash with Mansfield, the manager agreed that there is an impetus on the players to deal with the problems that Challinor described as ‘quite random’ in their attack.
“They’ve got good players and good players that are given a freedom to find space. I suppose from our sides of things their big strength is their weakness because they did vacate the middle of the pitch and are in different areas which causes problems but if you turn the ball over then it can cause them problems going the other way.”
You can watch the managers full pre-match interview here, where he discusses preparations ahead of Saturday’s game, County’s run of good form and the two weeks break in the league following Saturday’s match against Mansfield.
