McDonald previews Barrow clash

Solihull Moors manager Liam McDonald believes his side haven’t worked hard enough in their opening two fixtures, which have seen the team crash to two defeats, meaning the Moors sit bottom of the National League table.

Speaking in his column on the club’s official website, McDonald looked ahead to tonight’s fixture against Barrow, in a game that sees the Moors play in front of their home fans for the first time this season.

Here’s what the Moors boss had to say…

‘Thank Goodness we are at home tomorrow – after the disappointment of our two opening games we now have the familiarity of our stadium and I hope hundreds of fans getting behind the lads and giving them a lift.

I have said elsewhere that so far we have been disappointing but it is only two games into the season and a little too soon to panic! We are missing key players and throughout a season that is bound to happen to all the clubs. The Barrow game is too early for our walking wounded but I think it will be a different story on Saturday when Halifax visit.

We are putting in some light training tonight and it will also give us the chance to watch videos of Barrow to see where we can change the shape of our team and present more problems for our visitors. On top of that we must address the question of our poor defending of set pieces.

In pre-season we had no such difficulties – perhaps it is the pressure felt by some of the lads who are stepping up leagues to play for us or maybe Stadiums such as Leyton Orient can be intimidating when you are not used to them. Whatever the reason, the players out there have a chance to shine and establish themselves in the squad and I want to see an improvement. We will be discussing this tonight when we are all together.

I know only too well that Barrow are a big and powerful team – it was my first league match with Moors last season at Holker Street and we were bullied for the first 45 minutes. The home game was even worse with us conceding three times in as many minutes. So tomorrow we have to change things and we all relish the chance to get back out there. But make no mistake The Bluebirds have some very skillful players as well.

I do not lay the blame for the two defeats at our part time status – that may come into play mid season when the pitches get soft and heavy. As far as I am concerned we have not worked hard enough and allowed the opposition to ‘outwork’ us. We have looked nervy.

So it’s everything to play for now – I will tell the players tonight who is in the starting line up so that they have time to think about all the various aspects of the game that we will discuss after training.

It’s our first home game of the season – the players are looking forward to it – please get behind them and be our 12th man – you can make all the difference as we look for our first points.’


Heading to the ATG tonight? Can we get our first win of the season against Barrow? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below!