JERSEY BULLS’ assistant manager Kevan Nelson said the team is much better at handling disappointments and will go into tomorrow’s game at home to Horley Town with no less positivity as they do with every other game.
Springfield Stadium has not been the fortress Bulls would like it to be this season – their away record is superior having won seven more points on the road than at home over the same amount of games. Last week, they were held to a 1-1 draw by Sandhurst Town, their fifth stalemate at home this campaign.
Nelson acknowledges that teams have proven hard to break down at times but there has not been one obvious solution to turning those draws, and the three losses, into wins. He also admits that there is a longer term strategy to ensuring the players remain fresh coming into the final games of the season, something they have struggled with before.
“We want to win every game, we want to perform well, especially when it’s in front of our home crowd, but we’ve also got to understand that this is a 38-game league season and up to 50 with cups. We’ve got better at taking the positives out of games we felt we should have won,” said Nelson.
“Last season we were doing everything in every game to try to win, whereas now we want to make sure we are ready for the play-offs. So we try different things, we try different people, we keep people rested. It’s a wider strategy because we have folded over in previous seasons because we haven’t been able to cope with that level of intensity with such a small squad.”
Tomorrow’s opponents, though down in 14th, also have a slightly better away record than home, while they have scored just two goals less than Bulls having also played two fewer games. That could mean another tough afternoon but Nelson admits that they would not be prepared for anything less.
“Every team that comes over are difficult to play against. We know we’re going to be in a battle,” added Nelson. “We need to stay in those battles and I think we’ve got better at doing that. We’re a good unit and a good team.
“You’ve also got to credit the opposition for making these games difficult. We might be scratching our head thinking ‘why didn’t we win?’ It’s never one thing. There’s no obvious key to the door in a lot of games.”
Bulls have experimented with playing three at the back in the last two home games.
But while it brought benefits in some areas, it also exposed weaknesses in others and it remains to be seen if they give it another go tomorrow.
“It allows us to get overloads in areas but it also means there’s gaps [in defence], so it’s just working out a balance. It also really depends on personnel,” Nelson continued.
“I think it’s quite telling we haven’t had a full 90 minutes playing well since Christmas. We’ve had a good half and the other team have adjusted, but we’re getting there.
“We want to play good football. That’s what we’re set up to do. Technically we’re a good side but we also look at different ways to unpick sides. We know teams like to set up in a low block and it’s very difficult to play against.”
Lorne Bickley is hopeful of returning to the squad after missing the last two matches with a hamstring injury, while manager Gary Freeman could welcome back Euan Van Der Vliet and Jay Giles after long spells out, though Luke Campbell is a doubt.
Jersey Bulls provisional squad: Euan Van Der Vliet, Pierce Roche, Will Byers, Jay Giles, Harry Curtis, James Querée (c), Luke Campbell, Sammy Sutcliffe, Ben Le Rougetel, Kamen Nafkha, Luke Watson, Joe Kilshaw, Adam Trotter, Jonny Le Quesne, Ruben Mendes, Francis Lekimamati, Miguel Carvalho, Fraser Barlow, Lorne Bickley, Naka Nwokoro.
