New boss Stuart McCall confident Scunthorpe will improve

Posted Sunday, September 02, 2018 by PA

Stuart McCall believes things can only get better for Scunthorpe after earning a point in his first game in charge.

The Iron were second best for long periods against Accrington and could have been well behind at half-time.

But Matty Lund gave the visitors an unlikely lead with 10 minutes to go, only for Stanley skipper Seamus Conneely to equalise 90 seconds later to extend his side’s unbeaten run to five games in Sky Bet League One.

McCall, who was named Nick Daws’ successor earlier this week, said: “I’m delighted with a point but I’m really disappointed with the performance.

“I don’t think I’ve been involved with a team as poor in possession as they were in the first 45 minutes. I’m not being critical of the players, they looked nervous and edgy.

“Accrington played with a desire to get around the park and stop us, but we’re better than we showed in the first half and the lads know that.

“We were so fortunate to go in at half-time level. We changed it at half-time and we were better. We had to be, we could only improve.

“We’ve got so much work to do with the players and it excites me and I’m looking forward to helping the players get better.

“We’ve only been in two minutes. I’m looking forward to getting my ideas over. We can only get better.

“The overall feeling is exasperated because I always want my teams to play well. But a point away from home you always take, especially after the performance we put in.

“There were little positives and Matthew Lund will feel good about the goal.

“You look again at how important set pieces are – we scored one, they scored one. They are so important these days.”

Accrington boss John Coleman was pleased with his side’s character but frustrated at the number of missed chances as their search for a first home league win of the season goes on.

“I feel as though I’ve lost a tenner and found a pound with that equaliser to be honest,” he said.

“If you don’t take your chances you’re always liable to the sucker punch.

“They had a spell of maybe five or 10 minutes where they didn’t so much put us under pressure, but they played the game a bit more in our half than what we did in their half and they scored.

“Thankfully we had the character to bounce back like we’ve shown all season.

“But it’s frustrating because that’s definitely two points dropped with the domination that we had and the chances we created.”