Alton manager Kevin Adair post-Horley Town

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00:00OK, a 4-2 win against Hawley Town and a superb first half performance racing into a 4-0 lead

00:07there in that first half.

00:08Thoughts on that?

00:09Yeah, got to be really positive about the first half, it was probably as good as it

00:14gets for us.

00:15Started the game disciplined, didn't go behind in the first 10-15 minutes which makes a big

00:18difference to a side that average one goal a game and that's key.

00:24And obviously scored a goal, then got another and then really took the game to them to be

00:28honest.

00:30Arguably it probably should have been 6 at half-time, going at half-time you've got to

00:34be positive about what you're saying and well done because we've come out of a period where

00:38we've found it really tough and we knew that we had this sort of performance in us and

00:42it's hard to not take your foot off the gas when you do something like that.

00:46I think the thing for me was the intensity went a little bit but the actual manner and

00:50the way we were playing the game changed which it shouldn't have done.

00:54So that's the disappointing thing but if I'm disappointed after taking three points and

00:59scoring four goals, then we're obviously still demanding good standards.

01:03It's not going to be perfect across the 90 minutes, I guess when you're 4-0 up sometimes

01:08subconsciously players just protect it slightly maybe, obviously that wouldn't have been the

01:14plan.

01:15We're coming off the back of the period of Christmas and New Year, some people have probably

01:20then put everything they got into the first 45 and tried to coast through maybe the second

01:2445 and the other team obviously they couldn't get any worse.

01:28Let's be honest, as good as we were, they were poor and then second half they came out

01:32and they were a little bit more direct than we allowed them to be and then they just gave

01:35themselves a couple of opportunities.

01:37We probably gifted them the first one and then the second one's in a transition where

01:43we've sort of lost the ball and it was something we were really good with in the first half

01:46but didn't do it in the second half where maybe we felt we were comfortable and it's

01:50again, you need to get into habits where you don't do that because if you do that in another

01:55game and that one goal costs you the points then it's disappointing.

02:00Overall, good, three points, we needed them.

02:04Another home game now being rescheduled for next week against Hadley so obviously we go

02:08into that positive, it's now three games undefeated and then a good performance away at Harefield

02:12just before that where we were unlucky not to go through.

02:16So yeah, things are changing a little bit but there's a long way to go for us.

02:22We're starting to see what we thought we were capable of but now you've got to do it week

02:27in week out but the difference from 17th to 11th I think is really small so a couple of

02:33wins can make all the difference.

02:34You've had those couple of draws against Fleet and Camberley and obviously a big win today

02:37as you say, so a bit of momentum building and a look to take that out of the seed?

02:41Yeah, it's going to be a real tough game next Saturday against Hadley, we always have good

02:44games against them, they're competitive and they're really good, it won't be easy.

02:50I think we've got Ballum coming here and then I think we travel to Whiteleaf so in

02:54our minds we've got a points target we need to achieve in the games we've got in January

02:59and then just to keep pushing forward which is the young group do that, there's a couple

03:03of older heads still in there but the general thing is it's a young group, they're looking

03:09to improve and they are learning, we've learnt the hard way in the first half of the season

03:13but the ones that are still here have learnt from it and are getting much better.

03:18I'd say in that first half four goals but it could have been more, look to real threats,

03:22especially balls into the box seem to cause all sorts of problems.

03:25And listen, you can say it as much as you want but if you don't put the ball in an area

03:29where you can score from, you're not going to score and when you do do it, it doesn't

03:32matter how many chances you miss, if you're creating 15-20 chances then no-one's going

03:36to be disappointed and that's a big difference.

03:39Let's see if he gets the first one, obviously pleased to have him back recently.

03:45Yeah, nice to have him back, he scores goals, he's a different player to what we've had

03:49up there, Liam's been doing the job for us in the nine, we've brought a couple of lads

03:54in and they just give us a slightly different dynamic to what we've got and Seif looks like

03:58he's going to score a goal when he plays and he stretches teams and you need that and it

04:03allows Liam to go and play in other more natural positions to him but at the same time they're

04:07pretty fluid attacking players, it's just maybe it takes the weight off of other people's

04:12shoulders when someone like Seif comes in and we look like we're going to get goals

04:15through him and a couple of others rather than just one or two.

04:18And free-kicks, deliveries were really good and obviously George Bennett.

04:21Yeah, Pointer's always good at them, his delivery is good and his tenacity and his

04:25work rate is good, he's been fantastic for me this year. To be honest, when he comes

04:29off the pitch he's one of them that rarely drops below a 7 out of 10 in terms of performance

04:34wise and that's what you need when you're in positions like this, someone that just

04:38does what you ask of them and to the best of their ability.

04:41Good delivery but also good desire to attack it and meet it, George Bennett obviously with

04:45the second there.

04:46Yeah and George was really good and he'd come in, he'd skip it aside and the way he's

04:50approached the game in the latter part of last year and again today is much better for

04:57us as a group. It was a difficult time for him to come in and skip a brand new group

05:01of people that he didn't know but I think now we've worked each other out, everyone

05:07knows what I want, everyone knows what's expected and we're starting to see a lot more from

05:11the lads that did join this year.

05:13And Jamie Hoppe, he's always another reliable player as well and he obviously got up at

05:17the back stick for the third one, another ball into the box.

05:19Yeah, so three and two for him and arguably he's probably asking me why I'm not playing

05:23him centre forward today because he came on and got two last week when we put him there

05:26but he just sort of, again, goes where we need him to go, doesn't moan, gets on with

05:30it, does it to the best of his ability and gives us that experience when we need it.

05:34So, really good player to have around.

05:36Darnold came off the bench obviously for Mal, obviously went up injured but Hamstring I

05:40assume was it, cold day?

05:41Yeah, Hamstring, so we're going to hope that it's just a tweak rather than a pull but we'll

05:45see. We've picked up another three knocks today which we've now got a smaller squad

05:50but just can't pass with it.

05:52Darnold comes on and gets that fourth right on half-time as well.

05:56Yeah, and you're probably forgiven for thinking it's game over and it should be game over

06:01at four now. I mean, it should be game over at this level if you're going 3-0 up and you

06:05should be able to see games out but not when it's autumn.

06:08You would have known obviously Hawley were going to improve obviously from that first

06:11half.

06:12Yeah, and we were probably going to find it difficult to improve on where we were at but

06:15I think the only criticism from it in all is don't stop doing the things that are getting

06:20you where you've got to. Don't believe that now you can just go and enjoy yourself. You

06:24enjoy yourself in the last 10, 15 minutes when the game's fully killed off, not 46, 47, 48

06:30minutes.

06:31But loads of positives and a great way to start the year.

06:33Exactly, yeah.

06:34And obviously now just roll on, tough home game against Hadley but you look to build

06:38on it.

06:39Yeah, go into it positive, yeah, for sure.

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