BBM says he's very pleased

Brian Barry-Murphy:


“I’m very pleased. We got through the match unscathed in terms of losing players, and it was a very valuable workout against Southend.

"There was a difference between the two halves. In the second half it was harder for us to create the chances that we did in the first half, but overall I’m very pleased with the application of the players throughout the week and tonight.

“I think that there’s a lot of work to do in all of the team, and individually Yousef obviously has clear qualities. We feel that it’s very important that he understands where we want him to arrive in the best instance for the team, and then we’ll serve him in the way that we hope.

“In line with the rest of the squad, it’s going to take a lot of work and repetition to understand the roles based on the way we play, but as long as Yousef and the players have an open mind to try to improve those things and to work really hard at it, then step by step we’ll improve as we go through pre-season.

“We’ve got a very clear idea of how we want to play, and we think that the supporters will enjoy that.

"It will take a lot of hard work to get there, and this part of the season is where we expect to see a lot of bumps in terms of both understanding and the physical application required to play that way.”

Nothing like getting excuses in early at the end there .
Joking before some fans go into meltdown.

I think it's refreshing to have a manager who has an identity he believes in, and a certain way he wants to play and his players either buy in to it or they don't play

Makes such a change from lurching from one formation to another and changing shape and tactics 5 times a game

I think it's refreshing to have a manager who has an identity he believes in, and a certain way he wants to play and his players either buy in to it or they don't play

Makes such a change from lurching from one formation to another and changing shape and tactics 5 times a game

Exactly. A lot of our young players have gone from one system to the next, no real direction.

BBM will have his philosophy, of course he’ll change tactics if he needs to but will keep the core of his beliefs in place.

Recruitment also must take this into play, one of the reasons we may not see signings so quick, because every position we bring in must match the traits needed for this system.

E.g. you bring in a bruiser in midfield, but but if he has terrible passing range and bad vision, then he just doesn’t fit. You don’t sign him, keep looking.