“It’s about getting the balance right”

Joint manager Derek Forrest gave us his thoughts after the defeat by Hebburn Town.

“We know Hebburn have got good quality but our staff and the players didn’t think it was a 4-0 game.  Of course you’ve got to defend the full 95 minutes that were played and they’ve scored with the last kick of the game and it made it look worse than I think it really was. We want the lads to be honest and accountable and they said there were mistakes in there that led to some of the goals. If you make mistakes against teams like Hebburn they’ll punish you and it’s a disappointment to make those mistakes. There were no chinks in their side, they didn’t make any mistakes to let us in and it’s why they are where they are; and that’s where we are aiming to go to.

“We’ve got to be better and on the back of Tuesday night it looks disappointing but I think we were a bit more encouraged today by how much stronger we looked than on Tuesday.

“Goals are key in football matches and timings can be even more so. The first one just before half time, the second just after and then the last one right at the end which makes it looks worse. For two of them we’ve made a mistake and played somebody in. So there were goals at key times. The second goal gave them a bit of breathing space but I think we were playing really well before that and then even at 2-0, we still carried on playing and had a bit more of the possession, probing for that opening that never really came.

“We’ve played some different systems this year and we’re getting used to formations and the partnerships which is key. It’s about getting the balance right. We had a lot of experience in the spine of the team today with Chris Bannon, ‘Gilly’ (Liam Gillesphey), Ben Richardson and of course Craig McFarlane. We wanted to give Hebburn a really good game but at the same time we’d got to respect them so the experience in the side was vital. I think it’s about getting the right balance within the squad now.

“Today was probably a good learning curve for a lot of us, the management included. We’re not downhearted but of course no one likes losing.”