As Grantham Town seek a win for the first time in four outings, they travel to promotion chasing Witton Albion. Grantham joint manager Wayne Hallcro took some positives out of Tuesday night’s game at Belper.

 

“We asked everyone to just enjoy the game.” Hallcro said. “We did pass the ball more, but it was individual errors that let us down. Generally we seemed to be a bit better. We still have a lot of room for improvement. We worked the ball well from side to side and into the front two. Gio worked really hard and held the ball up well for us. He has been out of things for a few weeks, but he gave the reaction in his performance last night.”

 

Recent performances persuaded the Board of Directors at Grantham to sit down with Hallcro and fellow joint manager Jimmy Albans on Monday night to talk about the situation. Hallcro explained what happened at the meeting.

 

“We went to the Board on Monday and were told that they are giving us their backing,” he explained. “But we know that can only last so long unless results improve. We are grateful for their support and want to have everyone at the club pulling in the same direction to turn that backing into support for the lads on the pitch.”

 

“I can understand how disappointed the Board and everyone else is with results this season.” Hallcro continued. “But you can put Jimmy and me in that category. We know we have had bad results, we know we haven’t been good enough, but we are working so hard to put it right. Roger’s attitude as Chairman has been superb. His attitude of “come on, let’s have a go” is such a boost to everyone. We need to get that from all corners of the club. The fans have been great in recent weeks. Even with results, they have applauded us off the pitch.”

 

“I want to make a success of the job at Grantham.” He added. “It is a club that I have always wanted to be involved at in some capacity. It is well known how much I love the club and am desperate to do well, not just for myself, but for the club as well. All I ask is that now the Board have given us their backing that everyone gets behind us and shows that backing to the lads on the pitch.”

 

Turning to matters on the pitch, Hallcro maintained his faith in what himself and Albans set out to do at the club.

 

“I know that what me and Jimmy are trying to do is the right thing for the club.” He said. “At the moment it has not worked. We will change whatever is needed to be changed to get it right. It can’t happen overnight, football doesn’t work like that. We thought things were looking up early on against Mickleover, after winning at Carlton. Suddenly we concede a goal and the atmosphere on the pitch changed again.”

 

“It has been the case that the reactions of fans in games earlier in the season has put players in the wrong mindset to play at home.” Hallcro observed. “I can see players who look petrified when the ball is coming to them because of what the crowd reaction might be if they don’t do the ‘right’ thing. I know it is frustrating, but it has made players play the game differently which makes our jobs harder to get them doing the right things. The reactions from the crowd have got better in recent games and we appreciate that. We can only ask hat the same fans are patient as we get confidence levels back up. We are trying to do the right thing. We have cut out some of our chat with referees during the game to try and set the right example on the field and we’ll get the right response from the players, they’ll pull in the right direction and we need everyone else at the club pulling in that direction as well.”

 

Witton are in good form at home, with three wins and a draw in their last four league games. Despite that record, they sit just outside the play-off spots and were surprisingly beaten at Shepshed Dynamo last Saturday. Hallcro saw enough on Tuesday night to give him and Albans food for thought ahead of the game.

 

“Saturday we were absolutely terrible.” He admitted. “We felt we had to change things again, so went with three at the back. When results are not going for us, the last thing we should do is do nothing. We are trying to bring in new faces and may have a couple of new signings for Saturday. There was not so much pressure on the lads at Belper as it wasn’t a league game and we played some nice football at times. There are some important games coming up, especially over the Christmas period. There were little snippets again at Belper that were encouraging. With the ball we looked more comfortable. We made mistakes and didn’t do as well when we didn’t have the ball. When you do that against a side as confident as Belper, you will get punished. They can bring on players like Ryan Hindley, that shows where they are as a team.”

 

“Individually so far everyone has done things well,” Hallcro stated. “But as a group of players on the pitch we haven’t gelled at all. That’s something that is down to us to address. I can’t expect people to enjoy what is going on on the pitch at the moment, but fans who were at Carlton know what this team can do. I know a lot of people have only seen the home performances, but I can only ask them to keep supporting the team and us and not kick us because the club is down at the moment.”

 

Hallcros’ hand may be forced by the players that are available for Saturday. The recent spate of departures from the Meres has thinned the Grantham squad and unless the new signings come in, Albans and Hallcro may have a bare bones squad to work with. Danny Hargreaves misses the first game of a three match ban.

 

“Martin Wormall will be available on Saturday,” Hallcro said. “Although Ricky Hanson and Sam Saunders picked up knocks on Tuesday and we will have to wait and see if they make it for Saturday.” Hallcro said. “There were enough positive things about the performance at Belper for Jimmy and I to consider using the same formation. Rob Norris got more into the game than in recent weeks. Dave Frecklington and Ian Robinson were able to do what we wanted them to. We passed the ball better than we have done for the last five or six games.”

 

Witton miss Dylan Adams themselves through suspension as they go into the game on the back of their worst run of the season, three defeats. They also have a change between the sticks as goalkeeper Joe Clegg quit the game this week. The Gingerbreads famously drew 4-4 last time they visited Wincham Park and would be happy with a similar result this time round.

 

Squad: Squad: Ayden Duffy, Richard Stainsby, Sam Saunders, Gary Sucharewycz, Ricky Hanson, Alistair Asher, Danny Brooks Jack Simmons, Rob Norris, Chris Gray, Dave Frecklington, Ian Robinson, Lee Potts, Gio Carchedi, Martin Wormall, Ben Saunders, Wayne Hallcro.