THE “dogged” approach is the way forward for Warrington Town at this time, says manager Paul Carden.
And that includes for games at home, where form and results have been disappointing during the 2024/25 season so far.
He sees this sense of direction as the lesson all involved with the club can take from the Yellows’ hard-earned point with a rearguard display at Brackley Town in Northamptonshire on Tuesday – just three days after being dismantled 3-0 at home by South Shields.
“It was a great point at a tough place and it took a real battling display with some really good defending and a real team shift,” said Carden, who made reference to Brackley Town being a stable, annual threat in National League North – much like this Saturday’s visitors to Cantilever Park, Alfreton Town.
“I thought the lads were outstanding to a man – the workrate, the effort, the energy and the discipline to keep the shape.
“A little bit better decision making and we could have turned some opportunities into chances but to go there in midweek, get a clean sheet and a point is a really pleasing result.”
He added a key point, though.
“It shouldn’t take a reset every couple of weeks for us to be dogged and hard to beat and stay in games, because the longer you stay in games you can always get a chance,” he said.
“If we’ve got to be resilient and we’ve got to be tight as a unit then so be it, whether we play home or away.
“Sometimes people will look at it and say “You’ve got to be expansive” but we’re playing against good teams, playing against some full-time teams, so what we are and whay will get us results is always about the team, the shape and the togetherness working as a team.
“That’s what we saw on Tuesday night and that’s what got us a really good point.
“The defensive side of things on Tuesday night showed we should be doing that because we’re capable of that.
“That’s something we’ve got to try and switch, certainly at home because we’ve got to get this form right.
“We’ve got to get these results right and if it means us being dogged at home then so be it.”
Town welcome Alfreton to Cantilever Park, kick-off 3pm, having only won one of their eight home games in all competitions so far this season.
Alfreton’s form has also dipped of late, having lost three of their last four games but they sit seven places higher in the table than Yellows in 11th spot.
Carden said: “Saturday is another tough fixture against another tough side who are always pushing for promotion out of this league.
“They’re notorious for what they do, how they get results and how they play. They’re always effective and have good players to back it up.
“But we focus on us. We’ll do our work as always and we’ll get ourselves in a better position to give ourselves a chance because that’s what we need to do.
“We’re too open at times, looking to play sometimes ‘too easy on the eye’ and if you get caught and you’re open then teams and players in this league can punish you – as has been proven.
“So we’ll keep working on shape, being tight and hard to beat because that’s how you get results.”
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