Billy Paynter is looking for his Runcorn Linnets side to bounce back from a “frustrating night” against Newcastle Town.
*This is a transcript from Off The Park’s interview with Runcorn Linnets manager, Billy Paynter. They face Kidsgrove Athletic and Witton Albion after eliminating Stalybridge Celtic from the FA Cup before being held to a draw by Newcastle Town.
Thoughts on the previous two: “Happy with the result and to be in the hat for the next round, we didn’t make it easy for ourselves despite being comfortable at 3-0 up, especially after we spoke to the player’s at half-time that we need to improve our intensity.
I thought we took our foot off the gas and allowed Stalybridge in towards the end which made it nervy for us.”
On the draw with Newcastle Town: “Another frustrating night, we created opportunities in the final third and had penalty box entries but it was just the final decision, once we get into those areas.
“I think we’re lacking a bit of quality of calmness when we do so, a couple of games in and maybe certain players haven’t clicked, it’s a frustrating night looking back on it.
“The performance was good, it was just the clinical side and scoring goals is the hardest part.”
What are the areas you feel need improving? “It’s still early days, three games in the league, one in the cup, unfortunately injuries have happened to key players but we’ve had to manage and I’m comfortable with the squad that we have.
“I’m always on the look to improve, I’ll never rest on that, if we’re needing to see what’s out there we’ll do so.”
Looking ahead to the upcoming fixtures: “Last season when went there it was one of our toughest away games and I’m expecting the exact same, if not tougher.
“They’ve had a fantastic start, full of confidence and I’m sure they’ll be out to get a victory over us.
“Two wins put us back in a decent spot, that’s where the importance was in getting the win against Newcastle Town, it builds momentum. We’ve got two massive games coming up but mainly focused on Kidsgrove first then Witton after that.”
