Bootle manager David McNabb has discussed the positives from his opening game in charge despite suffering defeat.
His time in charge of the Bucks got off to the worst possible start as they conceded after just a minute and despite Nivaldo’s second-half equaliser, former Marine attacker Owen Watkinson restored Colne’s lead just two minutes later.
It was an important win for the Lancashire side as they moved closer to Northern Premier League West safety.
Bootle remain outside the bottom four with a five-point cushion. Despite the defeat, the former Rylands and Macclesfield boss insisted there was positives from the display.
He told Off The Park: “It was a disappointing result but there was some positives to take from it as well. It’s been a tough season for the lads and the group, they’ve had a lot of change that they’re trying to deal with and look, we’re not going to be overly harsh in the performance, there was some positives and definitely some things we have to work on.
“There’s nothing we can do to change it [the result] now, it’s all about building for the next game and Mossley, it’s going to be a tough one.
“The work-rate and the desire that the lads showed throughout the game was brilliant,” McNabb explained. “The way we started the second-half was good and we overcome adversity in conceding so early in the game and probably the better side in the first-half.
“Generally speaking, just the way that we tried to react and the attitude has been brilliant since we walked through the door so long may that continue. We just need to work on a few technical and tactical things to get a little bit better and see some of those situations through.”
This week, McNabb has had his full week of preparation with his new side after taking charge last Thursday following Steve McNulty’s resignation.
Reviewing his first seven days at Vesty Road, he remains confident in his squad as he looks to iron out the creases.
He said: “It’s a good group, they’re a good group of lads, they’re really honest, hard-working, they all want to try and win games so as a group, there is no issues at all.
“There’s just a few things that we need to work on that we want to try get better at as the week’s progress but no major concerns at all.”
They travel to Seel Park this weekend as they visit Mossley AFC. The Lillywhites have returned to form following a dip as they look to increase heat on the playoff positions.
As it stands, David Fish’s side are four points off Runcorn Linnets but for the Bucks, it poses an opportunity to add another impressive away result to their season tally after wins at Macclesfield and Workington.
“They’re a very good side, Dave [Fish] has got them playing some great football and going to Seel Park is one of the toughest places you can go in this league,” McNabb admitted. “The fans are close, on you, they’re loud, it can be intimidating at times, it’s going to be a tough place to go but it’s an opportunity for us to go there and spoil the party.
“Ultimately, that’s what we’re trying to do, go there try and get the three points and come home happy.
“If you look at the form that we’ve been on over the last season, a lot of the more positive results have come away from home which is a bit of a strange indicator really.
“This group has done really well facing adversity, the likes of Macclesfield and Workington away, they got maximum points and Mossley will be just as equal as scalp as those two if we went there and got the three points. There’s certainly plenty for us to go at.
“We don’t want to be conceding early goals to a team like Mossley because it’ll be incredibly difficult to get back into the game,” he said on the importance of not starting as they did against Colne.
“They had a dip in form for a few weeks a while back but like all great sides, they have a dip in form from time to time but Dave’s experienced enough and been in the game long enough to know that the side he has got is full of quality. They were always going to come back good again so it’s no surprise they’re fighting for the playoffs.”
