Film fan Buckle targets Ebbsfleet win

Town may have been disappointed to be held to a goalless draw at the Impact Arena at the weekend, but unlike the week before at Braintree they refused to crumble under the intense physical pressure exerted by their opponents.

Speaking at yesterday’s press conference, new boss Paul Buckle said: “There’s no comparison to (Braintree) other than it was an away game. It was dreadful as I’ve said.

“I would rather forget that now. The players have put that right themselves.

“I spoke to them on Friday. We had a meeting in here, I showed to them some clips, some not very nice clips.

“But today I’m thankful to say we could show them some good stuff, and that’s the way it has to be.

“What can’t speak can’t lie, so the DVD can be a very powerful thing sometimes. It was important for me to show the players the good stuff today in the same room I’d shown them the bad stuff on Friday.

“Alfreton will undo teams and they have done this season already with their sheer physical presence.

“But they didn’t meet a soft Luton on Saturday. They met a tough Luton that just couldn’t find the goals to go with it, but we are going in the right direction.

“We played really well first half on Saturday.

“We’ve watched the DVD back, we’ve done a session this morning showed the players some of the good play this afternoon and we really should have been in front at half time, we know that.

“We’re really pleased, I’m even more pleased than I was on Saturday. Four points is a good return.

“We’ve been able to work on some attacking play today, some sharp stuff in and around the attacking third.

“Be a bit more patient with the ball. Work the ball for some good openings rather than just putting the ball in the box.”

And he was pleased with the way his side stood up to the Reds’ physicality on a good pitch, saying: “There’s never any excuses. There won’t be no excuses. The pitch was good on Saturday. We set up to pass the ball and we did that first half.

“And if we’d got a goal or two for our trouble it would have been a completely different game, but it wasn’t to be.

“I’ve seen teams lose them games. When you’ve been so dominant first half sometimes the opposition can grasp it and go and nick it off you.

“We were really strong and we were certainly no pushover on Saturday which was the first thing I wanted, I didn’t want us to be a soft touch.

“We wasn’t. We were very strong, but we just couldn’t find the goal and tomorrow night now it’s about taking all those good things we done on Saturday plus adding a cutting edge.”

He also indicated that the Hatters should try to be more patient in the final third tonight.

Buckle added: “It’s hard. It’s always hard. Like I’ve said there are no easy games, it’s going to be difficult and on Saturday we could have maybe been a little bit more patient on the ball second half.

“I can’t expect to have it all. The players have given me everything in this last week and there’s been loads of new ideas going into them.

“They’ve given me everything and I’m delighted with four points from the two games and now it’s about going all out to try and get three points from this game.”