Manager pleased with side's start in League One
Graham Alexander is optimistic ahead of the start of the second half of the League One campaign against Swindon Town on Saturday afternoon.Town currently sit in eleventh place in England’s third tier, and are only three points outside of the play-off positions having played every side once so far.
And the manager admitted that he’s been delighted with the way his players have acquitted themselves since earning promotion last May.
Saturday’s fixture at home to the Robins will prove another stern test, but one that the Cod Army will be looking to win after defeating Rochdale at the end of December.
Alexander said: “We played Swindon at the end of November, they are a good team and they are at the top end of the league table.
“We were unfortunate not to take a point away from the County Ground, and this weekend’s game is one we are all looking forward to.
“We want to start the New Year in a positive fashion, and are aiming to continue where we left off in 2014.”
Fine margins have been evident in Town’s games during the first half of the campaign, and the boss is hoping his side can find their finishing touch in 2015.
“On quite a few occasions this season, our performance levels have been very good for 90% of the games.
“We haven’t managed to take the opportunities the players have worked ever so hard to create for themselves. We haven’t just found that finishing touch.
“We did though against Rochdale and we deservedly won the game. This is a team that is constantly trying to improve and win football matches consistently.
“The players never stop working and never stop searching for answers. We work hard on the problems that everyone faces in football from all levels right to the top in the Premier League.
“If we add that finishing touch to everything else that we are doing in a good way we will get the points that we deserve.”
Alexander went on to say that he believes the Club are in a healthy position at the half way stage, and is looking forward to the challenges ahead.
“We have played 23 league games now and we are half way through the league programme. We haven’t had an easy game yet and I am not expecting one.
“We went into the season with our eyes open to see what the standard was consistently, week in week out. We wanted to evaluate our players competing at this level week in week out as well.
“The lads have been superb the majority of the time. Their performances and the way they have approached games has been fantastic.
“In every single game we have been competitive. We didn’t set any positional targets at the start of the season. We just wanted to be competitive every single week.
“We have been delighted with the players’ work ethic and the way we are trying to play football. We have introduced a lot of young lads into the squad this season and they have pushed the more established first team players for a position.”