Widnes manager Dave Dempsey is remaining calm despite their disappointing start to the season and is confident that a win is around the corner.
The Whites picked up a point from their Bank Holiday weekend taking their tally in the early stages of the season to two.
A strong Macclesfield side ran riot against Dempsey’s side scoring five on Monday. On Saturday however, they could’ve picked up a win but had to settle for a point thanks to a debut header from Declan Daniels.
Widnes found themselves in a similar situation last season, prior to Dempsey’s arrival, before the former Ashton Town manager took over.
Dempsey then took them on an impressive run which saw them move away from the relegation zone before leading them to a mid-table finish by the conclusion of the season.
The Widnes boss admitted they are shy of where they wanted to be after five games but has hopes for his side which continue to gel.
He told Off The Park: “We were expecting a couple of wins, I always say to the players if we can get nine, 10 points every five games we’ll be in good shape this season.
“Runcorn Linnets away, local derby, new manager, that was always going to be a tough game, we’ve had Bootle at home another tough game where we got the draw and could’ve won that game. We had Colne where we could’ve won that game then obviously Macclesfield.
“It’s so early in the season, don’t get me wrong we wanted more points on the board, I’m sure the players did, everyone at the club did, the fans did, we all expected a quicker start but the squad we’ve got, we’re more than capable of getting wins.
“It’s just when that win comes it’ll relieve a little bit of pressure that the lads are carrying and we’ll be fine in the long term. I think we just need to understand where we’re, we are early in the season, we have had a few new players, some players that haven’t played at this level so it’s going to take time but we’ll be all good.”
Already in the Northern Premier League West there have been two managerial casualties as Bootle and City of Liverpool relieved their respective managers of their roles in the opening month of the season.
He added: “In terms of the manager’s that have been let go from roles, I think clubs are very quick to jump on a new manager and use that as a way out of slow starts and dark times.
“Every club has dark moments where they win five games on the bounce, four games and every club has a moment where they lose a few we can’t be seen as a sport to be losing a couple of games and losing managers – they need time.
“That’s not me putting out a message for what I feel should happen to me, if any club feels they should move on, they should move on and do what they need to do. In my opinion, I think clubs are quick to press the trigger and get the new manager and treat that as a way out.”
Despite their start, Dempsey is keeping calm but is also confident that their first league win of the season is just around the corner.
“We’ve had the FA Cup win against Winsford, we’ve then had the cup upset against Bury. It’s just trusting in what you’re doing and remaining calm and confident that a win’s around the corner,” he continued.
“We had moments last season when I come into the job where we had a really, really good start and we had that new manager’s bounce. I think we had five or six clean sheets on the bounce then we ended up losing five games back-to-back and then something clicked, we went to 1874, had a really positive result and went from there.
“It’s the same moment we’re in now, we’ve got two draws, we’ve lost one game on paper that you could be going on winning and that’s Runcorn Linnets. Macclesfield are Macclesfield, they’re going to do that to every team in the league this season, if you look at it, we’ve only had one game out of the three where we’ve been beat which we should’ve been getting something from.
“We’ve had two draws, we’re not far away, it’s not the end of the world, it’s not dire straits, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, we just have to make sure that we apply ourselves in the right way in training, on the pitch, off the pitch and when that win comes we build on it and that’s what we’ll be looking to do on Tuesday.”
They are not in action this weekend following their FA Cup exit but on Tuesday, league action returns as they face Prescot Cables.
“They’ve got five points in four games, they’re three points above us, a win puts us level. Again it’s really early to be looking at points,” Dempsey added.
“Prescot have improved massively, they’ll be a good side, they’ll be an organised outlet, I know a lot of the players have got their own threats as have we. We just have to go and apply ourselves, play the occasion the right way, and hopefully come out win the three points.”
