Gloucester City face Alfreton Town tomorrow in what is Mike Cook’s fourth game in the hunt for 3 three points at the helm of The Tigers.
Danny Wright signed from Havant and Waterlooville in the summer on a free-transfer, and after a very positive pre-season, is without a goal after 11 games.
“To be honest it has been a bit of a disaster, both for myself personally and for the club. I didn’t expect us to be in the position we are in.
“We have to be realistic. There has been a lot of changes that the club has gone through but we should have been able to cope with that transition and be in a better spot than we are now.
“I feel we have had a good few weeks with the new gaffer now implementing his philosophies and training methods, the disappointment last weekend with the last minute goal was a bitter pill to swallow, I feel there is some positive performances that are going to be coming out and hopefully we can get some points and get us up the league.”
It was a tough start for The Tigers under ex England goalkeeper Tim Flowers, winning one game from nine, conceding 13 goals and only finding the net seven times.
The squad has undergone a complete re-jig after moving from a full-time outfit to part-time off the back of last seasons play-off push under Steven King, with substitute goalkeeper Liam Armstrong the only player that remains from that previous squad.
The club have seemed to have taken quite a ‘local’ approach to signing players, bringing in players that know the club well, including the likes of Joe Parker, Spencer Hamilton, Joe Hanks and Harry Williams whom have all played for City before.
“We have some great lads in the dressing room, we are all feeling the hurt that the fans are feeling with our position in the table.
“Ultimately the stats we have a looked at since the gaffer has come in is that we are not fit enough as there has been an increase in goals are going in against us late on in games. As a player it is not nice to be told that you are not fit enough but ultimately if the stats are against you, you haven’t got an argument to go with.
“It is not that we don’t care and that we are coming off the pitch and not having a bad weekend with the result that goes against us, there is lots of us that are invested into the club and we are all wanting to do well for everybody.
“With the position we are in we have just got to get us out of this trouble and get us as far from the bottom half as possible, the personal target is scoring a goal first, I am not deluded and every season changes. Look it is good to set targets to get everyone where they want to be, rest assured we are doing everything we can to get this club going in the right direction.”
The Tigers face Alfreton Town who are off the back of qualifying for the FA Cup first round proper last weekend, beating Macclesfield Town 3-1.
The Reds are six games unbeaten, sitting 10th in the league table with an average of 1.82 goals per game scored and also made the play-offs last season, similarly to Gloucester.
“They are a very physical side, very direct, they will put the ball on top of us in our defensive third and they will be trying to be first on the knockdowns and the second balls we will need to implement our game on them
“We don’t want it to turn into a rugby match, we aren’t going to be successful if we do that, we will get the ball down and play and be composed when in possession, we have a game plan we know what we want to do and I think we will produce a good performance.
The 39-year old veteran striker had his best season in 2015/16 for Cheltenham Town, playing 44, scoring 22 and assisting 10 goals. However this season Wright has struggled to put the ball in the net.
The Gloucestershire based forward has been playing on a small injury this season which may have hampered his chances and is at an age where most footballing fans are feeling that he is at the point of retirement, however Wright seems to think different.
“I don’t feel like a 39 year old, I don’t feel like I can’t run around, I don’t feel necessarily different.
“In that season at Cheltenham in pre-season I was second in the speed test behind Amari Sterling James who was an absolute rocket, I haven’t got the speed in my legs that I used to have, but ultimately speed is not the be all and end all of my game.
“With my injury I was losing my balance in my left foot at times, it wasn’t a painful injury but it was an injury that was hampering my performance, I’ve had to have the rest and get the injury healed, I am confident and determined to make sure it [a goal] does happen soon.
“Recovery is harder after games; I have to do a lot to get myself right to get ready for the weeks training and things like that. Look, I am upholding my commitment to the club and the moment I feel I can’t do that I will have to take commitment to that.
“That personal target you aim is positive, but the ultimate target is to get three points on the board, if my hold up play and team performances do that I’ll be happier than just scoring a goal and the team not getting the win.”
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