Whitley extended their unbeaten run under Nathan Haslam to four games and the new manager was delighted with his side’s third consecutive victory. “I’m thrilled and the lads in the changing rooms are as well. We’ve beaten a very good team. We stifled them. We had chances at different stages of the game; we had shots that hit the bar and Kyle Hayes (their keeper) has kept them in it. Dan Lister at a crucial stage has made a quality point blank save for us.”
The turn-around in fortunes since Haslam arrived earlier this month has been quite dramatic and the speed with which it has happened has surprised even the manager himself. “They’re just getting better and better every week, I can’t fault them. To me there’s no secret. I’ve obviously got my own philosophy, my own way of managing players. I’m very structured and very organised, and we’ve had a total change of the way we want to play and they’ve adapted to it. They’re thinking more about the game now; it’s not about just lumping the ball forward. I’m trying to get them to think about the game and how to manage games and this has happened a lot sooner than I’d imagined, and long may it continue!”
“The defending was robust, all four at the back today have been outstanding. There was just one phase of the game when I thought we were a bit disjointed, that was in the first ten minutes, but that was all.”
“I’m not normally one for singling out but I must mention Luke Taylor, he’s just getting better and better every week and was deservedly man of the match. I’m so happy for him. He’s a very laid back kid, takes a little bit of stoking up, but when he gets going he gets better as the game goes on.”
Craig McFarlane, who is now just one game away from his 350th appearance for the club, was handed the captain’s armband for this game and impressed his manager. “Macca had a good game he’s an experienced player probably could have played at a higher level, he’s top drawer I can’t fault him, he’s good at winning balls, competing, and might have scored twice. Young Lewis Walton’s come in for Jack Cooper who’s done nothing wrong but I just wanted to freshen it up, to give lads chances and again he’s done really well. This group of lads will win a lot more games than they’ll lose, the football on show at times is breathtaking. We’re still not quite there, that’s the frightening thing; we’ve still got loads of gears to go through. After three wins and two clean sheets, we must be the form team in the League.”
To the credit of both teams, Saturday’s game was played in a good spirit and there were no cautions for either side. “The lads will always be disciplined,” Haslam added. ”They’ll compete but we’re not going to get drawn into arguing with referees once a decision’s been given. It’s a mentality we have going forward, we’ll be fair, we’ll compete.”
