Players deserve the credit and still more to come – Karl Robinson

Posted Sunday, February 04, 2024 by PA

Salford’s 3-1 win over Wrexham extended their unbeaten run to five games under new head coach Karl Robinson – who insists there is still more to come from his side.

The Ammies had lost four in a row and were without a win in 10 before Robinson took charge.

He, though, insists the recent turnaround in fortunes is down to the players.

He said: “We showed a real forward-thinking mentality. You’ve got to earn respect when you play football and we felt we were going to earn respect in their half.

“There’s so much more to come. What I’ve done is just stood on the touchline, the players are the ones who take on information and work hard everyday.

“They also know they’ve been under par and that they’ve got a point to prove and I think that is a little bit of a regret by them.

“We’ve played three teams in the top seven and in all of those games we’ve scored goals, so it just shows you there’s so much frustration in the team – to get 11 points out of 15 is remarkable but still that’s not enough.”

Despite a good run of form which has resulted in an upsurge in points, Robinson is not getting carried away.

The Ammies boss added: “I’m sick of hearing people around the club talking about promotion. All that matters is the next game. We’ve got to keep working hard.”

Theo Vassell headed the opener from a corner and Elliot Watt scored direct from another. Sam Dalby pulled one back but Matt Smith volleyed a brilliant third for the hosts.

Wrexham remain well in the hunt for promotion, but their home and away form are like chalk and cheese.

The Red Dragons have picked up 35 points at home and 17 on the road, scoring just 12 goals away from the Racecourse Ground compared to 43 at home.

Wrexham manager Phil Parkinson said: “To give two goals away like we did in the first half is very difficult. We got one back and on the third one we weren’t strong enough in the box again.

“We have to find a way on our travels, when the pitch isn’t great or when the team plays a certain way, to get points.

“We’ve come out second best today in important areas. If we defended the two set-plays, we would have started to get a foothold in the game.”

Parkinson also praised Robinson for his impact.

He said: “Karl has come in and they’re playing direct. We can’t legislate for the two corners going in, we got back in the game but the third goal was a real blow for us in the second half.

“We have to find a way to play better in these games, and collectively we need to do better in dealing with strong and physical players. It didn’t go our way.”