The frustrating yet somewhat inevitable news of Saturday's scheduled trip to Barnet being postponed meant we were instead forced to watch, helplessly, as the teams around us closed the gap further. It meant Daryl McMahon's wait for a first National League match in charge will extend to three weeks, which can either be perceived as a blessing or a curse in that it gives him more time to implement his new philosophies on the team, but conversely means we will have gone a long time without a league fixture at a time where sharpness is absolutely integral. In addition to this, a fragmented schedule isn't exactly ideal in our current predicament; you want a full week to devote to the Saturday game. Fine margins are invariably crucial in this league and can prove the difference between staying up or not. Every point now has extra value, every game comes with more pressure. That our game at Barnet was called off on Saturday only means there will be more at stake when it's eventually played. The reality is that the teams behind us are slowly picking up form as if the magnitude of the situation had dawned upon them, while we're hovering dangerously above them, there to be shot at. Though we're in good hands with McMahon, who has already overseen a notable improvement in performance during his first game in charge against Notts County in the FA Trophy, he's neither a quick fix nor a miracle man. He's a long-term appointment under whose reign the club is expected to undergo steady, continual progress. However, it will take time for him to make his mark on the team, and time isn't a luxury we have. He will be backed, undoubtedly. He's already brought in two new faces, experienced centre-back Gabriel Zakuani on a deal until the end of the season and striker Alex Reid on loan from Stevenage, though neither would've proved too costly an acquisition. The important question is: will the owners bank on us being just about good enough to survive this season and start afresh in the summer, so they don't have to eat into additional funds they may not have expected to have had to use? Or will they see relegation as a prospect they simply cannot risk, and therefore allow McMahon to bring in more faces that ultimately could keep us up? There are certainly arguments to support both of those possibilities, though I for one would dispute the fact that we're good enough to survive. For the past three or four months we've been statistically the worst team in the division, and have struggled against the sides currently below us. In fact, of the six games we've played against those teams, we've collected just five points from a possible 18. We shouldn't have to rely on a single player but the return of Balanta will be vital and simply can't come soon enough, but it could take him a little bit of time to get to the performance levels he was reaching beforehand.
Our run of fixtures isn't particularly generous. Four of our next six games are against teams currently in the play-off picture or higher, and the other two are potential relegation six-pointers against outfits who will be just as desperate for the win as we will. Our dreadful form leading up to this crucial stage in our season is well-documented, with us recording just a solitary win in three months' of football. We need to find our feet, and fast.
Meanwhile, the gap between us and the relegation zone has decreased to such an extent that there barely is a gap anymore. We've watched it diminish gradually as the threat of slipping into it's grasp grew more and more imminent; now it's time for the team to step up and fight their way out of the mess they've brought upon themselves. The manner of the season so far indicates it's almost destined to end in catastrophe for the club, but this isn't time to feel sorry for ourselves or dwell on what has been a write off of a campaign in terms of our initial aspirations. I just hope this team are better at dealing with a relegation scrap than they were a possible promotion challenge. When Balanta and Phipps are back in action, it may be a different story. Alex Reid might prove to be the crucial striker we needed. There may be signings on the way to change our fortunes. But one thing that's guaranteed is that with teams behind us picking up points and demonstrating their ability to grind out results, the pressure is on for us now. Survival is not a certainty and we now have 16 massive National League games, starting with an unenviable but ultimately must-win clash at home to Notts County.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
WRITERArchives
January 2024
|