Gary Bowyer challenges Salford to go on a winning run

Posted Sunday, October 17, 2021 by PA

Gary Bowyer has demanded consistency from his Salford players after they beat Hartlepool 2-0.

An early goal from Tom Elliott and Matty Willock’s late effort secured three points for the hosts.

It was just the pre-season promotion favourites’ fourth win in 12 League Two games this season and Bowyer urged his side to go on a run and get themselves into the top half of the table.

Bowyer said: “We were very impressive. We made a great start, so we learned from last week’s lesson.

“We kept Hartlepool at bay and limited them, and in the second half we had some fabulous opportunities, but we were a little bit wasteful.

“But we’re happy with the clean sheet and we’re happy that we scored two goals and won the game.

“Managers are never happy, they want more and I thought we had some great opportunities in the second half to put the game to bed a bit earlier. But overall, it was pleasing.

“It’s a case of building on that and trying to get some momentum and a run going now.

“We’ve had that conversation with the players in the week and in terms of the performances and how we’re playing, we’re happy. In terms of results, we feel that we certainly haven’t done well enough.

“In that point of view, they were very honest. There’s only us that can change that and that’s how we go about it on a day-to-day basis in training.”

Hartlepool started the day in eighth but had another away day to forget.

No one in the division has picked up more points at home than Pools, but they also hold the worst away record.

An angry Pools boss Dave Challinor questioned his players’ desire to end their travelling woes.

“We didn’t deserve anything today,” Challinor said. “It’s not good enough.

“We need to look at what we’re doing and what people are about. It’s not going to ruin my weekend, it’ll ruin the next week. I’m fuming.

“(First-team coach Anthony) Sweeney and Clint (Hill, assistant) are the same because they’ve had a right go in there, but it can’t mean more to us sitting on the side where we can do very little about it than it does to the players on the pitch.

“That might not be the case, but I don’t see that in an outwardly fashion in terms of a desperation to do what it takes to get a result and win a game away from home. There’s not enough of that and that’s disappointing.

“People need to improve. This is their careers and I’d be concerned if I have more concern about their careers than they have for their own in terms of what they need to do better.

“It’s a collective across the board, it’s every single player in that dressing room and every single member of staff.

“The ones that aren’t in the squad or on the pitch should be asking themselves the question why aren’t they? What do they have to do and are they doing enough?

“If we do that, we’ll be fine but at the moment, we’ve got to be better than we were today.”