Greene accentuates the positive (19.08.05)

FRUSTRATION was the watchword of Magpies manager Dennis Greene after the opening salvos of the new season.
On Saturday his side went down 4-1 at Sutton United after gifting the hosts two goals, and then on Tuesday nine-man Newport County held out for a point at York Road.
In both instances Greene was satisfied with much of what he saw from his young side, but disappointed at the final outcomes.
He said: “I would have liked four points instead of one, but I’m content with aspects of our performances.
“The problem on Saturday was that we gave away two sloppy goals. Players fell over with the ball at their feet and gifted Sutton goal-scoring chances.
“Despite this, we came back well, especially in the second half and threatened to get back in the match despite being 3-0 down.”
“We should have got three points against Newport, but when they went down to nine-men it was very difficult.”
He added: “I thought we were better than them when it was 11 v 11, 11 v 10 and 11 v 9, it was just that after the second sending off they pulled everyone behind the ball.
“We tried to play it wide and get in behind them, but it’s not easy when they ensure there’s no space to play in.
“It was OK when they had 10 men, at least then they tried to counter-attack, which give us some space to play, but after the second dismissal, they shut up.”
However Greene took a number of positives from the start of the new campaign, especially the attitude of his players.
He said: “The players are very positive at the moment. They feel we didn’t get a lot of luck in the first two matches and deserved better.
“I agree. It’s a brand new team trying to work together and it will take time.
“Things will be fine, but we all need a little bit of patience.”
That patience will again be tested in the coming weeks, starting tomorrow (Saturday) with a home clash with one of the pre-season promotion favourites Cambridge City.
Greene said: “We have four really tough games coming up (Cambridge, Hayes, Thurrock and Lewes), and I’d settle for four points from them.
“But we’ll keep it tight and see what we can get.”