Hednesford boss wants more up front
Hednesford boss Rob Smith today warned his attackers they will "struggle" at home to Kendal on Saturday if they play "with a similar lack of bite up front."
Hednesford boss Rob Smith today warned his attackers they will "struggle" at home to Kendal on Saturday if they play "with a similar lack of bite up front."
The Pitmen face an all-the-more crucial Evo-Stik Northern Premier League fixture on Saturday after a goalless home draw with Nantwich last weekend.
Smith's men trail the play-off spots, which they dropped out of last month for the first time since September, by three points with five games left.
And the manager insists they simply must start firing on all cylinders if they are to reclaim their place in the Blue Square North after a six-year absence.
He said: "We must improve massively if we are to get anything, if we play with a similar lack of bite up front against Kendal we will struggle again."
A powder-puff attacking display last Saturday was not helped by an injury to striker Gary Hay, the 35-year-old replaced after just 13 minutes.
A leg injury put paid to him and replacement Andre Landell proved ineffective, as did substitutes Elliott Durrell and Nick Wellecomme.
It left Smith's side with just four league wins from 16 games in 2012 and the Pitmen boss believes the Nantwich display summed up their year.
He said: "It was not the first time, I can point to many games since Christmas where the players have shown a lack of mental strength.
"We have done nothing different to earlier in the season but they have not been able to cope for whatever reason.
"'Gary Hay going off injured early on didn't help but I was disappointed in our forward play again after that, as I have been for some time.
"We pushed for a winner because we needed and wanted to win, but we just huffed and puffed with no real quality.
"That's why we didn't break the deadlock."
One saving grace for the Pitmen is that they now possess a game in hand on all but one of the top five after this week's run of games.
Only their immediate rivals, fifth-placed FC United of Manchester, have played the same amount of matches as Smith's side.
League leaders Chester won 3-0 at Kendal on Tuesday night, while play-off rivals Northwich Victoria won 1-0 at Chasetown.
Fellow promotion contenders Chorley blew their lines on Monday night, losing 1-0 at Bradford Park Avenue.