Bury came out 2-0 victors today after a tough challenge away at Prestwich Heys, Manager Dave McNabb spoke to the club to give us his thoughts on the game.
Dave McNabb: “Yes, a tough performance. I think this time of the year you’re coming to a grass pitch; it’s going to be tough. It looked really flat when we got here but obviously with all the weather and everything it did turn over quite a lot and it wasn’t conducive to playing good football and both teams will primarily try and do that. So obviously you’ve got to be a bit more direct and play into the sort of front line a little bit more, but I thought we did it really well. First half, the first 35 minutes I thought we were excellent. Let them back into it a little bit towards the back end of the first half and second half was just a bit scrappy for both teams but like you said, you’ve got to come here, you’ve got to win games if you want to be challenging. That’s exactly what we did, we showed massive resolute performance. Yes, and the clean sheet is really, really pleasing.”
He then spoke to us about potential tactical changes today due to personnel issues with him saying “Yes, people will talk about formations, I don’t think it matters too much, formation and shape. I think the key is that your identity stays the same and that you can play through that shape. The shape has got to be fluid, at times we were in a back four, at later times we were in a three. So that versatility, being able to move between one and the other in-game, we’ve done it quite a lot this season. We did it the last two or three games, we were converted into different shapes. I think it’s more important that the identity stays the same and you should notice that it’s us, you should know that it’s us playing rather than looking at a shape or a formation. But like you said, we’ve got some big players missing today, you’ve got Nicky Adams, Aaron, Bobby, whatever else. It was tough and that’s why we’ve got a squad, we’ve been stretched a little bit thin today but again, to a man, every single one of them were outstanding.”
Dave then provided an update on Ruben Jerome who didn’t feature from the bench today, he said: “Yes, I think obviously he hasn’t played an awful lot of football since his injury and then he’s been thrown in and started games, played a lot more football than he probably should have done. But again, because his form was so good, we wanted to keep him in. Thursday, he just felt a bit tight and a little bit tired, so we thought, look, that’s why we’ve got different players, different options. So, we thought, bring him out today and utilise him from the bench. And then in the warm-up, right towards the end of the warm-up, we were doing a shoot, and he just felt a little twinge in his knee, It’s probably being able to get through it if we need to. So obviously if we would have needed him, he could have come on 10 or 15 minutes, but in the end, we didn’t need to. So, there’s no point taking that risk. We can get him back in and get him assessed on Tuesday.
He then spoke on Josh Gregory MOTM performance with him saying “Yes, I mean, that’s worth the admission price alone, isn’t it, seeing a Josh Gregory goal? I think that’s something that you can write and take to the grave with you. Look, Josh is a fantastic footballer. Obviously, the thing that people and fans don’t see is what he brings to the changing room, to the group. He’s a brilliant lad. He manages the group, he marshals them, he’s a leader in the dressing room, he does a lot. I think he deserves to have played more, but obviously because of injuries and whatever else, he’s been really, really unfortunate. Today, we had to throw him in again. He probably shouldn’t have been up and playing 90 minutes, but for me, he was the best player on the pitch.”
He then gave us an update on Nicky Adams’s and Bobby Carroll’s injuries: “I think, obviously, they’ve had assessments today, so they’ll have full treatment schedules next week. They’re going in to see physio during the week as well, in the day, as well as just at training. A week’s a long time in football, so we’ll see.”
To finish the interview Dave looked ahead to next week’s fixture against West Didsbury & Chorlton at Gigg Lane, he said: “Yes, absolutely I think, like I said after the interview with the West Didsbury game, it’s probably one of the darkest days I’ve ever had in football. So, looking forward to trying to put that right next weekend. Like you said, two sessions are fantastic for those entering Christmas time. As soon as we’re training twice a week, you’ll see a difference in the group, and hopefully people are starting to see that now.”
