Lee Johnson has given his thoughts ahead of Saturday’s visit to Accrington Stanley, claiming it will be a battle of the two sides’ differing philosophies and gameplans.
The Lads visit the Wham Stadium on the back of Tuesday’s disappointing defeat to Lincoln City – something which the Head Coach is looking to eradicate from the players’ minds with a good result in Lancashire.
“We have to execute our game and gameplan extremely well, which is something we didn’t do well enough against Lincoln and we take collective responsibility,”
“At the same time, we performed in a very similar game against Wycombe extremely well and managed to implement our philosophy. Every game is a new challenge and is very different, and Accrington do a tremendous job with their resources.
“It’s a tricky place to go – the fans at Accrington always create a good atmosphere. The pitch is good, and it’ll be a really good game. Both teams I expect in certain areas of the game to affect the other with their philosophy – and that disruptive nature, whether it be us in possession or Accrington’s physicality, will lead to a really interesting game to watch.”
Johnson did touch on Tuesday’s game and what he feels went wrong – something he and his staff hope will not repeat itself.
“We had a tough game on Tuesday – was there an element of arrogance, maybe, but these are lessons we have to learn.
“Our attitude in the first 20 minutes was poor, and I wasn’t expecting that – it wasn’t something we had seen for 10-12 games before that. But you also have to give credit to the opposition.
“You have to adapt and find solutions when things aren’t going well, and on Tuesday night, there was too much poor body language, too many attitude errors early on, and in my opinion, that led us on a downward trajectory.”
The gaffer finally spoke of maintaining a healthy surrounding for the players around the camp, and claimed he is invested this month in both recruitment plans and results in the short-term.
“We want to promote a really positive environment – I’m focused on both recruitment and ensuring my communication with the players is world class, aiding them to get the next result.
“I’ve had good chats with individuals ahead of Saturday’s game, making sure they know we’re setting higher standards for them and that they’re doing the same thing for themselves.”