PM: Tricky Hawes re: bullishness

Yes yes, I know, I know. And if it all goes tits up and we don't go up, you can all blame me if you like.

I wouldn't feel this way if we didn't have such a good squad: a squad that, on paper, was supposed to go up alongside Derby. I wouldn't feel this way if we weren't producing the kind of high pressing game which, with our better quality players, other sides can't match, and mean we're actually improving game by game now. And I wouldn't feel this way if we didn't have a manager who inspires confidence and, more than that, self-certainty and self-possession in the players, in everything he does.

No-one's nailed this thing down during our problems this season. It almost feels as though everyone else is just waiting for us to start our charge. Well, it's started now - and in no time at all, we've gone from hoping to make the top 6 to looking certs for the top 6 to looking increasingly good for top 2... yet we've barely even begun.

Will Alex Neil be looking at other teams' results, or our own? Will he be worrying about others, or ourselves? Tactically, he's clearly able to come up with responses to our opponents match after match - and his plans then enable our superior quality to win out. They can't cope with our pressing, our high line - and only good sides are able to make such an approach work. We already are: increasingly convincingly. And as I mentioned when Adams left, I honestly feel we can only improve.

Superstition of football fans be damned. I'll be shocked if we don't go up now. That's why I reacted as I did after just one game: at Bournemouth. That wasn't a one-off, or a new manager honeymoon, but a statement of things to come.

Posted By: thebigfeller on February 23rd 2015 at 20:17:04

Message Thread

Reply to Message

In order to add a post to the WotB Message Board you must be a registered WotB user.

If you are not yet registered then please visit the registration page. You should ensure that their browser is setup to accept cookies.

Log in