Midfielder Coady previews Saturday’s trip to Bolton
Conor Coady has played a pivotal role in Town’s improvement under new Manager Chris Powell – and now he’s keen for the side to make more forward strides.
The summer signing from Liverpool wants to get back to winning ways at Bolton on Saturday after successive defeats on the road, despite a pair of good performances.
“After getting the draw last weekend we need to stick together, start again and kick-on now – starting at Bolton on Saturday,” Conor told htafc.com.
“In my eyes, we played very well in our last two away games; we were unlucky not to come away with something at Fulham and we played quite well against a very good Derby team.
“Now we have to go to Bolton, be compact and play how we have been. Hopefully we will come away with a good performance and a good result.
“We need to get back to doing the things we were during the seven game unbeaten run; taking our chances and scoring a lot of goals, whilst staying tight as a team. We defended well as a unit last weekend and kept a clean sheet, so we need to keep that going now.”
Conor knows that it won’t be easy to win at the Macron Stadium, with Bolton enjoying a spell of good form under new Manager Neil Lennon.
He continued: “At the minute we seem to be coming up against teams that are kicking on a little bit! Bolton is a good side with some very good players. I’m sure that whole club will be on a high after three home wins.
“I know a few of their lads and I know it will be a good game; the likes of Jay Spearing and Rob Hall.
“However, we’re focussed on going there and sticking to our game-plan. We’ll get tight, get under their skin, get in their faces and try to play as well. We’ll listen to what the Manager has to say and put it into motion.”
Coady had a new midfield teammate during Town’s last game in the form of West Ham United loanee Diego Poyet, who has bolstered the ranks in the engine room alongside Jacob Butterfield and Jonathan Hogg. The Liverpudlian was delighted at his arrival:
“Diego is a top player; I think everyone saw that last year. I played against him last year, so I already knew. Getting young players in the team, like Diego, is what the Club wants. He’s a great addition to the squad.
“The Manager wants the midfield to rotate and for every single player to try and get on the ball, so Diego coming into the team last weekend didn’t change the plan. He’s just a good player to have around. The more quality players like that in the squad, the better it is for the Club.
“If we play with one striker, one or two of the midfield three need to get forward and join in. That will always leave one sitting. Regardless of who is playing, we need to chip in with goals. Whoever gets picked on the day, we want to do a job for the rest of the team.”
Poyet only makes Town’s squad stronger; evidence of which could be seen in the substitutes last weekend, as Conor explained:
“We’ve got the players here to keep moving up the table, without a doubt. We’ve got really good strength in depth now – just look at the bench last weekend, with the likes of Nahki Wells and Danny Ward on there. The players coming off the bench can change the game.”
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