Skelmersdale United manager Richard Brodie says his side have to beat City of Liverpool by “hook or crook”.
The Purps are the latest visitors to the Community Ground as Skem look to bounce back from their defeat to Prescot Cables.
Elliott Morris’ effort wasn’t enough to spark a comeback after Kevin Lynch’s side raced into a two-goal lead in the second-half.
“It was especially disappointing after our performance and clean sheet against Widnes, again it sums our luck up when our back three keeps clean sheet then Sam Sheen gets injured so we have to make changes to a back three that kept a rare clean sheet,” Brodie told Off The Park.
“There’s no one better to come in than Groges [Michael Grogan] to replace Sheeny because that’s his position but I think anyone at the game will tell you the better side lost that game, we dominated, would’ve have been wrong to say we should’ve been two, maybe three, in front at half-time.
“Then same old story, second-half we get done by two set-pieces. I’ve said before about how good we are as a team but in both boxes, nowhere near good enough because if we don’t score our chances and we don’t stop them at the other end, it’s a recipe for a disaster really, that’s what happened Saturday.
“As much as our good play deserved more, if you’re not good enough in both boxes, you don’t score.”
Their clash this weekend with City of Liverpool sees a number of familiar faces go head-to-head, including the return of former manager Paul McNally.
It’s McNally’s first game against Skem since he left for the Purps role last year. However, Brodie wasn’t interested in discussing the encounter against his former manager and now-opposite number, insisting that three points are imperative.
He continued: “I’m not going to get involved in all that, I’m going to concentrate on the fact that it’s our third local derby on the bounce.
“Widnes, Prescot, City of Liverpool and for me now, Saturday is all about three points, how we get it, I don’t particularly care, whether we’re scrappy and we grind out a result, it’s not about playing well. It’s about getting the result, we need three points irrespective of who we’re playing, it’s about getting three points.
“There’s a lot of frustration in the dressing room after the game, that was probably my most frustrating performance in charge against Prescot because how good we were deserved something out of the game. We hit the bar but now, it’s about having a reaction.
“Home game, decent crowd but ultimately, we need three points to keep us plodding along. We need to start turning the little defeats by one-goal into picking the odd point here and there which will make a huge difference at the end of the season. Saturday is about getting three points by hook or crook, don’t care how we get it, we need three points.”
Brodie added: “We always feel disappointed, I never send texts the night of the match, I let it stew. Training’s been really good, it’s been excellent, always sharp, intense and we always get something out of it.
“Prescot has gone, we looked at the video and seen where we went wrong and put that right Saturday. If we take our chances Saturday we win the game and defend set-pieces properly, we minimum get a draw. That’s the way it is, we’re young, naive, a new group, we need to put things right Saturday.”
[Featured image: Gordon Johnson]
