In a pre-match interview reported on the Notts County site, Williams emphasised the need for consistent performances and addressed the challenges the team faced during their recent encounter.
Williams, taking a moment to look back at the previous game, warmly praised the team’s strong showing in the first half, saying. "Yeah, I'm happy with what I've seen so far, but I need to see that in the game. It's the most important." Yet, he didn’t shy away from pointing out the team’s second-half hiccups. He emphasised the need for keeping up the momentum for the whole game. It's not 45 minutes of football, and one-nil up is not job done," he remarked.
The head coach pointed out the team's occasional lapse in intensity, particularly in terms of ball control and defensive efforts. Williams expressed concern about the team's ability to reproduce successful performances consistently, stating, "We didn't reproduce the same intensity to try to take the ball and to play forward and to try to move swiftly into position to defend. Instead, we were careless with the ball and gave the ball away too keenly."
When questioned about the team's uncharacteristic home performance, Williams attributed it to the demanding nature of the games. He commended the opposition, Walsall, for their energetic performance and noted that learning to reproduce successful efforts would be crucial for Notts County's progress. Williams stated, "I thought Walsall made a brilliant energetic performance to try and harass us really well in the first half."
Williams didn’t forget to touch on the continuous journey of learning, particularly for those players who have risen to meet greater challenges. "Yeah, no doubt. We are learning because, as I've said before, many of the players have not been proven at the level." As we near the midpoint of the League Two season, Williams candidly recognised the uphill battle of promotion. Yet, he couldn’t help but beam with pride at the team’s relentless effort and commitment.
Looking ahead to the January transfer window, Williams mentioned his involvement in the recruitment process and hinted at potential additions to enhance the squad. Williams, with a keen eye on the team’s current form, acknowledged the need to evaluate their performance. He stressed the importance of spotting areas that might need a bit more muscle. He said, "I imagine that people will be out there looking at players and looking at what we have and how we're performing and whether or not there's a player there to come in that can take us to another level."
Despite recent challenges, Williams expressed gratitude for the team's position in the league, being just a point off the automatic promotion places as a promoted club. He emphasised the team's relentless mentality and highlighted the need to maintain enthusiasm and energy over the long term. Williams concluded, "That is our best route to success – to be demanding and relentless and to try to see if we can maintain that enthusiasm and energy over a long period of time, and that's what will bring us to success."
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