The Seals Podcast: Episode 56

Hello and welcome to episode 56 of The Seals Podcast. I'm your host, Tom Bird, and in this episode we'll hear from both men's first team boss, Callum McIntyre and women's first team manager, Calvin Williams. As ever, you can find us on sealspodcast.buzzsprout.com and all of your favourite apps, including Apple and Spotify. First up, we capture with Callum. As he reflects on a busy period of nine games in 35 days and looks ahead to our festive schedule, starting with South Shields at the Dev. Callum was sitting here after a pretty manic month of November and a first week in December. With that week off now and the Saturday off we've had a bit of time to reflect on that month and how it worked for you. Yeah, on the one hand, I think starting from here and now, yeah, we obviously don't have a game. It's a free weekend because we didn't progress in the FA trophy, that's of our own doing. Those spells in the season are what you make of them, so there are times in the season where you are really grateful physically more than anything else to not have a game. We're not in that place, so we wouldn't want it to play. I think when you're in a good moment and you're winning games, scoring goals, wins on the road. I think there's a bit of you can want the next game, but at the same time, we feel like we've been given a rare opportunity to have a real week's work without being dictated to by a game at the weekend. Meaning what does the Friday night look like and in the same way we've had so many choosing out games during that spell. The training week, it's been about Saturday, prepare for the Tuesday, we're going from the Tuesday, prepare for the Saturday. We've had a block of work, so the week leading up to the free weekend, I've been really happy so far what we've been able to do. We're in on the Saturday, getting some physical work into the players, some tactical work. Not needing to press like a reset button because when you use the word 'reset', you think, but just refresh and get ready for what's next, which is to continue what is a rich vein of form. And sort of kick on over the festive period of, like you say, between the 20th of December and the 3rd of January, we're going to play four games. The 12 points are for grabs that it gives us after 24 games. We know where we would want to be if we were talking in August. Can we be in and around that? Can we surpass it? We certainly need to be within such a distance for sure. I assume that free week does allow you to do things in training, physical work with the players that you might not be able to do if you had a game on the Saturday to prepare for. Yeah, there's a Saturday week and what it looks like. So if we are what we call a one game week, so we're within on the Tuesday, we will have a physical workload that basically our high load day, if you like, is going to be a Tuesday. And we know exactly what we want that to look like. We know what distance is, a lot of high speed running and the emphasis is physical stuff, but with the ball and sort of get us in a place where we can perform both on the pitch, like technically technically, but physically. And if you think over the years, that's a big part of our game. I saw Ian Culver, I spoke after the Kingsling game and described how we had ran over the opposition. That was our best. I think when we do that, we physically were an athletic dynamic group. You can't turn that on, you know what I mean on a match day, Thursday is a lower intensity in the Tuesday, lots more side of game, lot of game based stuff and putting in place in possession principles and particular pressing structures. And then a Friday is the detail behind it and it's short and sharp, tight areas, a bit of competition, sometimes a bit of fun on a Friday, but also trying to just make sure the real detail around set plays. When you have a Saturday Tuesday week, it's chaos because you, you try to shut down the game before prepare for the next game. But bizarrely, it sounds totally like a hypocritical, but we've done really well in those periods over the last four seasons. If you think November 2022 to go on the run that we go on, Giannioli 25, where we put together like a run of results. But it's just been tough. I think we're in a really decent moment and I look at sort of form tables and where we're at and to be last six games, we're second in that we've got 14 points from the last six. The top of that form table, we've only got 15. You look at the last eight and we're fourth. You look at the last 10 and we're third. That isn't a, we haven't turned the corner last week. Where I think when you were set aside at this level, I just think the Premier League is the problem that you look at what Arsenal will have to do to win the league or Mancetta, you look at the points per game and the runs that these teams go on where a top three Premier League teams are. It's a bit different this year and it's so tight, sort of third to like 10th, but the team at the top of the league generally put a run together with a win 10 on about. That does not happen in the national league north. It doesn't, and it never has. So when I talk about form and relative, it isn't about what you're watching on a Sunday afternoon in the Premier League, like making relative to our level that realistically over the last 10 games, two teams have got more points than us. Imagine if the spending more game was in that as well, we'd be right amongst it. If the, you know, like, I know the sound back to things that keep saying, so. It hasn't just been a good week leaving to December. I just think there's been a temperature around the club. I've talked about that a lot over my time at the club, trying to speak openly. It's always going to exist while I'm the manager, you have to remember that it will always. And I will be treated differently and it will always be a section of support as potentially with the same postcode or play for the same football team when you are local and you work where you live, where you grew up, where you had all your experiences. Naturally, you aren't just going to be judges of the football manager, but to be third in the league of the last 10 games can't fluke that. Which is the strongest national ignored in the four I've been involved in more than anything else financially. If we can be third in the form table over the next 10 games, another 10 games after that, I think we would have had a really, really good season. And I think you'll then be building into the last six games of the season at the business end right amongst where we want to be. Back to the start of that month of November, we have the Cambridge FA Cup game. I know you took a lot of pride in taking a Chester team to an EFL side for the first time in a long time. We all knew it was going to be an uphill battle against such a top league two side, but you were disappointed by how that day went. Yeah, of course. I was disappointed with the manner of the goals that we conceded. And I believe a side in the national league north can go to a side in the time that open mid table just outside the playoffs and league two with an outstanding home record where they beaten championship opposition aside of then gone and beat league one opponent penalties and now in the third round. I think you can lose the game three now. I don't think you can concede the three goals like that. A set piece to ludicrous bits of defended. But I also think I talk about that temperature around the club. It's the bit of something the opposition manager said to me after the game. I've like, he was surprised. A little bit to Bob's conversations there. Probably a little bit more pride that I can. But I was surprised at the reaction at halftime. I was surprised because in the vast majority of positions that is a mismatch. There's some stuff around. And like, I wish I had said that about not so about budgets. I'm going to say to every week now because it's fair. It's realism and no one else with the club wanted to communicate about that stuff. No one else wants to engage and the manager of the team are putting the fire in line. You are weird. I think it's like eight to ten times of what we spent that is a full time outfit that realistically. If a in the third round in January, a league. Two side. Just get mine. No, it would be a league one side. If I get my basic matter, a league one side might go away to a Premier League side in the third round. There could be three no down at halftime. And then you get words like gutless and spineless. The goals are really poor. But I can show you the physical data. Me and you sitting in an hour can get my laptop up. Should have fit. Not tried. It's practically set up in a way to try and be a side better than us in every single position. So over and over again, how many of our players over the years, you look at the lads are progressing to the league. You look at Birke at this level looked head and shoulders look like a man against boys every single week. Play's in league too, right? Okay, Charlie Katen's called so many goals is in and out in a team in the bottom six or seven in league. We'll stand where best goalkeeper in the division, best permanent goalkeeper we've had since we reformed. But there's any debate about you know, for talent, played in the middle of that division. This is a side that ambitions are getting out of it. And they were better than us on the day. But if I'm a supporter, I wanted to see more. So did I. But let's not pretend that like it's. It's unfathomable. And I thought it was just a reflection of where the temperature was out of what I took. The booing was it me. The booing was me in that moment. The fact that I was the manager of the club. But I just don't getcha for it. We got the first round properly. The FA Cup. I attended not this year's AGM the year before. And an ex board member put the random and basically said I've the football club not thought about getting in the first round properly. FA Cup. And he talked about his time on the board. When the club were in the national league and at to win one game, the money that we'll have generated from the couple on this year is not to be sniffed up telling you now. And I would say I don't do the numbers. And I imagine like every football manager, I can probably be a creative accountant. No, I want to spend it. The money that that couple generates on split gates, prize money. The money you got for tuning up in the first round proper. And is like, I can think of transfer fees that we've got for two of the players we've named. Well, if you add two of them together, it'd be more than that. We did that on the pitch. We earned that. What made it harder? Yeah, big following gutted. We couldn't rule them. I take that personally in a way that I should wear it round. Yeah, it was a tough start to the month. That then put pressure on the Tuesday night game against Marine, didn't it? I thought we started really well. And the first half is old out in the way that too many Tuesday night games at this level count. And it becomes a bit of a non event. And then we can see the goal. And that is where that moment is. So our set piece against record, probably culminating in the Marine game is not acceptable. And too many points have been dropped from that. And it is jobs not being done. You'd see it. And so Connell takes care of our set pieces this year for and against. That's why you often see him on his feet in those what we call dead ball restart moments. And if you're curious about the goal against because you've got a set up that's not been done and we have to change the set up in the round that times. Why don't you start bringing 11 back? It's not ideal because here's the trade off. You're able to mark up because I hope people don't think you defend set pieces about how I'll mark you. You have to have a set up so you identify your mark because you look at the opposition. It's why I'm coy on team selection because you don't want to make that work easier. So you'll see me generally when you get the team sheet between 2 and 2 15. And then we'll rewatch some of the set pieces and just make sure we know this is what these jobs are when they play this personnel. But that set pieces for as well. You want to be good in the moment. So you bring everyone back. The problem you have when you bring everyone back is defending the second phase because you defend the first phase so let's say that week was really well in the hole for us. That frontman wins the first contact. Who's job is it then to go and engage when the ball comes out to the end of the box? You have to do a lot of work. Who goes and does the corner taker. We have to do it because we were conceded on our first phase set pieces cross head goal. So we have to go. We're going to suffer now on second phases and you think about the horrific game when we couldn't get out for 68 minute period. Once you build a bit of confidence, we start defending first phases. Right now we go back to putting one up. Hey, if I know we might go Roberto Martinez and we'll go two up and three up and be really aggressive. But up marine game. We can see the goal. We go down at 10. Then that for me was the goal is the moment. You asked where the corner was turned. That goal James Jones has had a because the team we have played a good side that and it's the biggest problem for Chester in this division is on history and tradition. And on history and tradition, history and tradition, you can be the biggest club in the division every year on crowds. You're going to be in the top three or four every year on a way following you can be the top one. But these clubs that are growing organically so a marine that will do so well in the FA Cup, the Tottenham game, the promotions, the crowds all on the way. They quite rightly are now a competitive national ignore club with a real strut. Just because Chester have been in marine. No, so that's the reality. These are the clubs competing with over a 46 game season. So we played a good side there, a good outfit. And I thought we're 10, then I can't believe the control in the game. We have a goal rolled out off side incorrectly again, but we keep going and that that bit for the boys. I think it was just a moment where you go. OK, if we can do that with 10 men against that side. We got a Bucsdenum win. We always do really well at Bucsden. Always do really well at Bucsden. I thought we were really good that day. Thought we were, we had control of the game and you saw the type of performances that we need to have. And then where you get for sure is you go to Southport. I don't think we played well on the first half of Southport. I don't, I thought it was a poor game. I think the games at Southport often are. So if you go back last year, desperate game, would you scores in the playoffs? We will remember it really fondly. Can anyone else tell me anything that happened in that game? No, because they are death-for-gettable. And the season before, we're really good for 45 minutes and don't have enough to show for it when the game's too long. For me, that's probably the only time I've gone, we've played really well at Southport. And the first year, everyone talks about Kurt's goal. We were poor. We were poor. That cooled Friday, the Monday game. But again, you remember those moments. So we just, it didn't play well. The conditions got on top of us. And then you go down. It's a man. And you go, wow, you've been gifted the goal. You know what I mean? They've gifted us a one they'll headstart. You're thinking great, go down to 10 men again. And what's really hard on that pitch is I thought Marine because they were in front conceded territory. And when they were on 11v10, Southport didn't Southport charge Kurt an extra man in possession. And like, surely anyone can appreciate how difficult it is to play 11v10. If you were playing, there's deny leisure leagues. And it's 7v6. I think you'd rather be able to be on the team as 7. But there's different ways to do it. So when you play certain teams that are so set piece-based, you're just a mature everywhere. When you play teams that move the ball, so we just tried to almost suffer in like a 5-3-1 shape. That was similar to what we're doing the first half, but we couldn't get enough. You're never going to be able to press the ball, but you couldn't force the ball into any areas. The ball goes white. You think about the goal and midfield runner. You're just a man sure. So we thought, and we're going to now protect them. The center of the pitch. So to do that, we need to put players in different areas. So we'll go all back four. Three midfielders, two centre forwards, but in my makeshift, it could be as he suspended. I don't think Zanz is as effective when you're a man sure, because you need players that are going to run and cover the ground. So we go with that four on a three, two centre players. You can see them at full back. Their full back walk onto us anyway. And you have a bit of a threat. You think about where the goal sort of comes from. And you can see them at the third minute from we get the ball away. We haven't managed the game properly. And that from then, you look at the type of runs that we go on and where we put results. The FA trophy, I thought was a criminal first half performance. And I think again, all the things are described. We shouldn't lose a game like that. I spoke. Congratulations. You're getting really well. Show them a common number, a long time. If we want to earn and Jimmy Bell, full of class as well. We didn't turn up. Let's not pretend that was anything new. We didn't turn up in the competition last year against Gainesborough. We didn't turn up here. Lancaster should have beat us four years ago. That was Charlie Caiton's debut. And I think he put both goals on a plate for Kurt, scored two goals at the end. Like, we should have gone out that day. We go out with Nampwich on penalties. Before me as well, the club has a problem in the FA trophy that maybe we did in cup competitions. You can't tell that about the FA cup of 110 games in four years. I just couldn't believe the no-show element. We offered absolutely nothing in the first half. Second half. Crate loads. Don't finish. That's the risk you're going to take if you're going to concede a goal. You know, if you're going to make a 90-minute game on a level playing field, a game where you're 1-0 down in the 45 minutes. I played really well against Lemonson. That important to the first goal. Massive isn't it? I put you sure that. It's been a theme for us. So when we go 1-0 up against Kurt's in the FA Cup, we go 1-0 up against Mork and we score two. We go 1-0 up against Murther. We go 2-0 up. We should go 3-0 up from the penalty. We don't momentum swings in the game. 1-0, 2-0. I thought we managed it quite well given we played Tuesday night. To choose the night, Heriford first part of the first half as well as we've played at home. They are fair play and then bodies on the line. We should be 1-0 up after 3 minutes. We've had that stolen from us and I don't mean to my words with that. Given what I've just described to you, a goal being ruled out is one thing. Going 1-0 up the Diver in the fourth minute. It's totally different game to the one you've known but watch here. And that worry against Heriford all along was what the last 30 minutes were going to look like. Given one team had played on Saturday on one hand and I thought you saw that. And again that personality to keep going. I don't think we played well in the second half. I don't think we couldn't. They had like sustained spells of pressure and they looked a bit fresher and we didn't did we. But Pax should score moments before Woody does the thing with the volley and then Woody would you be brilliant as you come back in the team. And then we keep going. We got respect anymore. Don't talk about it. Still work. Just dried out. And then I would say everyone's seen recently what the results, you know what it can bring to back to back away wins by two goals. And people I love it as he supports in the street don't I live in. Talk about football. I love it. I'm sort of geek. There isn't like a click of a fingers and we changed and did this. It isn't always just a tactical game from the outside instead. It's a whole combination of factors that affect performance. One of them is the mood in the camp. If the mood is so let's do a clear. If there's like a complacency about a position you're playing, you're going to make it a level of yourselves. And the other end if there's an anxiety in the pressure grips which I thought the pressure gripped old certainly like the marine game. You can feel that and how many times as people around the club people would appreciate that time and a lot in the club's history of what that can feel like. For these part-time play it can grip all the situation so about trying to keep the balance. You can change shape sometimes to get a new stimulus you can change shape for the short term to get more of something. But the answer isn't always it's a whole combination of things that what has been since for me the bed food game. There has been a recognition of have to come out the outside the fine margins stop complaining about them afterwards. That's straight forward. And you look at the run we've been on and we lost one league game in 30 yet too many draws. But is anyone a win now as a place where we sniff it draws a file, we sniff it draws a tharlo in the northeast. I hope not not. It's not just a runner draws but all should we draw the kids into the areas. They played them in a playoff semi-final last year. We drew them here last year like that's the reality. So for me being in a position to draw the wins is a really good position to be in good habit. It's only a better position than trying to reset button flip everything around made a couple of tweaks. A couple of realizations, refocusing, re-energising. I'd like to say that the best team of the league of the last ten games delight the players with massive credit. We spoke a lot throughout the start of the season about trying to make it a complete performance including both boxes where we've had good performances in the main and both boxes may have let us down to really then last two games ragcliff in the Kingsling games. They've been those complete performances you've been after. Yeah, you know what, that's a really good question. It's got me thinking. I like that phrase about complete performance. I do think in the National Ignore and I go back to that comment around it isn't a lot like what it looks like in the Premier League. It's not style isn't going to look like that. The players in the Premier League are technically and athletically so far away from the sixth tier. In the same way, you know the biggest thing that the difference with the levels in my opinion is consistency. Now, whether you choose to make that comment around the consistency of Arsenal to win all of them games on the spin say or is it about players where you will have players that can do things at a certain quality but the players feel that the pyramid can do it consistently. So you want 10 perfect. That's pick a bit of a draft example. 10 perfect crosses. There won't be many better than Pat Jones at this level but then there will be someone in the league two and league one on the championship in the Premier League where their ability to deliver that quality on demand. It's like anything. It's like any sport, any industry. So for me, this division this year is the strongest it's been because respectfully there are no whipping boys. So when if you look at the amount of points say last season, it was it everyone relegated with games despair. That means they were cut a drift and got that this year. You haven't got the far as the situation. You haven't got the the catering in our first season that we another player in the year. They were on such a bad run. You look at the teams have got out the league and what they've been replaced by certainly for competitiveness of said the other week. Bedford and Workshop ain't here to muck about. Mac have come up on about expectations being in the top three or four filed have come down replacing sides that none of those comes. We got relegated probably had those aspirations. That's the reality. So the margins are really fine. I'd like to say you can't complain. Oh, it's fine margins. Get control of the fine margins. So when we scored one, generally we scored two. I know that sounds stupid, but when we scored the first goal, certainly in halves of football, but scored a second. So that is true. Spending more true. Radcliffe True at Kingsland is true here against Kuzn. It's true here against Murther. It's true in the second half against Morgan. We found that momentum. I'm not saying that's right. And that's everyone should get on with it. We can't rely on that. But with it being such a strong decision that if you want to get. So you're not going to manage the game properly. A way at Darlington, if you're going to concede the type of gold we do in the early stages at Scarborough or the equalizer, the Kuzn score. You are, we use, you're just touching a coin with the result. What we've done for me is been so intense around the fine margins. So we have, we have like five keeper parameters for performance. And they range from like, uh, Jules is then. And when Thomas Frank says it, how cool does he sound compared to me? You know me when Thomas Frank took the Jules, I mean, he's me talking about Jules. I sound fundamentally less impressive than him. But the point is whether that's one V1's balls in here, whatever it looks like, you break Jules down. You have to get on top of the opposition in the sixth tier. How many of our goals have been from crosses into the box? How many goals are balls in even the first goal at Radcliffe? Where Deon Kelly Evans puts a ball into the box with quality that asks someone to defend Pat A book on school on the second phases. You look at the goals at Spennymore, pulled across the box, those, those moments. So you have to settle to get crosses in the box. So if you're not, you don't mean if you're not going to accept to do it, but we're not going to cross the ball. The numbers are telling you ain't in the score as many goals. That's, that's that. And I won't bore you with like distance covered running all the things you break down of. You have to look at performance more, more often than not when you do more of those things you win the game. That's for us. And I just think we've done that more consistently, haven't shot ourselves in the full. And when we have control again, we've got something to show for it. We've gone one, there we're going to never die with control again. Kingsley and we're a great record. I love going there. Don't like the journey, but I can't ever remember being as comfortable of just watching Kingsley. Even when you know the 3-0 game in the last season, just watching Kingsley pass the ball in front of us at 2-0. We've come and got what we want. We're trying to score at the start of the second half. We should. We don't. So we're just sinking into a shape, get our clean sheet. That's the moment we feel like we're in. But the only time they've been really, really bad, you know, bad and worst awful, like really strong adjectives. We've lost four games, three of them are in the first five. When what? We had two centre forwards missing. We had bamboo suspended. We have you and Murray on his way back from an injury. Pat Jones getting in A, in B, fit. Literally, not at the club. These are the realities of, you know, we, we probably were a three-defeating five team in the first five games of the season. Then we were all right, but the temperature was really hot. We were all right then. We were all right. Not great. We were all right. Coming where we could easily have had six more points in that spell. Now we look, yeah, we're good. For example, you say complete performance. I'm going to say that for the players. I'm going to say this is what I heard on the sales podcast. Complete performances. Finally, South Shields next Saturday. Obviously you've just mentioned it there. It was a tough day in the Northeast, very different situation for us back then and with the players we had available. Now it may not be revenge for you, but you really looking forward to having them travel to the diva and playing them on our own turf. So I spoke on the the D radio show, you know what I mean? It's first music from maroon five. And I talk to Shannon. I do it every week. Don't I will do every little bit of meeting approached with as long as that the timings work. Don't get the platform. So BBC Murz said don't approach me for an interview anymore after games. I think I didn't want to wait. You know, because you know what it's like. I can I can take some time to come up there. So the sort of grab a player, but always available now. And Shane show and we had like a real football discussion last week that I felt like really engaging because I'm passionate about the club and don't want to give you sound bites. Yeah, I love the club have grown up here. Been here 10 years full time in January in different roles and do all that stuff manage these games, yeah, whatever. But look football and love and be part and trying like I think the club has got to engage with supporters. I find it difficult at times when there's things that I think the club can engage with and don't. That I think makes everything a bit more palatable to be honest. But when we sort of talk about football. Like talking tactical and they use the phrase of you on a conductor of an orchestra when you are a football manager, certainly not this level where you are now saying we are now deploying tactic a. We're now activating plan big doesn't the game changes there are moments in games there is momentum shifts. We talked about her with a hell if it have that 15 to 20 minutes spell of momentum. And they score and because we make a mistake and we we looked a bit weak didn't we in our box and balls coming in the hit the bar. That the game goes in a direction in the same way the way teams attack and defend can impact our other team. So you want to do what you're good at be stronger. But sometimes you know we're having no joy doing that's what does it look like and it isn't clicking fingers like I've just done to you on the sideline. It's a lot of things that impact performance of like physically mentally moved in the camp and I talk about once like two one way to the other. All those like aspects you have to get more right. And when you do that and by the way it's easier to get them all right. We go back to like selection and availability. The biggest thing for me at Chester and I think that is of. What what no would I leave for the next manager. One of them would be tempted to go get out the cup competitions. I go get out the cup competition because being being done we've had real success in the FA Cup. It's done as any favors of some of those league games we would give a no credit for the fact that we then have to play additional league games or play an FA Cup replay and then play a playoff ride on the Saturday. We we got the first round the club did really well out of it but we we had a difficult afternoon. The trophy. We make it really sick. I do it out. I wanted to get to Wembley with Chester and I'm a child right. That's where I was at. We don't support a goal in it ever. But you look at what I how I believe that the club can be successful of you have to have a strong team. But the difference between us and some of the clubs at the top end of the division is. I'm not saying we have a leaven. We might then have 14 that you're picking 11 from some of these clubs have 16 to 18 of players at the same level where. Play a come out play a big goes in the same level we can't do that. So when we go to South Shields on the bank holiday weekend on the Saturday. To have no peers in those answer as you've got no like platform of a center forward at the time in a as a single one. You know what I mean as a single because I like I like Dylan through the middle with someone alongside him. You then have a situation where we are leaking goals in one V1 moments and it all means you know what I mean when Charlie players whether we've got ten men or not. Charlie put four up against our back four and the letter was in that second half. All other us diagonal balls crosses home balls to the back post knockdowns. So going right. How do we design so what we were in in that moment is designing what we call a game models. Based on what we've got available and who we played that's not what we've ever done here. We have a way of playing and we build it and we build it and we build it and we tweak it because it might this and then we build and we build and we build and we have a momentum. So we have a rate and then we look a bit flat so we get a new stimulus and that that management over a season. So we go to South Shields and they're playing this 4 4 2 system with an unbelievable style of play where they bring the goalkeeper out to have 11 outfield players. And they have the best two center forwards in the league of the type wingers that can roll in to get full max in attacking areas. Really good players and they they know that the top two for the quality they've got and the money to spend should end up 20 points above everyone. And you know what I'd love to have that Andy Butler from Skundall and my people and go yeah they've gone like so people talk. People dishes bet like Skundall in the league because what they spend we start to win the games whereas these two have gone big, big at the top end. And what can kill us to one extent is one of them is in the northwest you know for recruitment and stuff like that. So we got the South Shields and you go and they've got two center forwards. I don't want us to go 2v2 so we're going to go 3v2 and then they're going to play with real wit so we're now going to be in back 5. And we lined up the models similar to what we did when we played articles which I had to do against Cambridge that day didn't work that day either. But you go like a 5-4-1 and you try and walk the opposition onto to create a running game where we played that day with Connoord's one side. Pat Jones the other either side of Fin Roberts and you're trying to make the game be played in just more than a third of a pitch, just less than half of a pitch. Where they're center arms because they want to play and pass the ball they won't put it on you and making those passes into your final third. Where if you pack those areas in the pitch, set the ball off and you're going to score at the other end. Counterth, we had two counter attack moments like that in the first half we should score. What's the problem when you set up that way if you go 1v1 down and we go 1v1 down is it 42 minutes, deflection hits someone and goes in. If we go 1v1 up you watch the spirit in our lads to try and see that lead out, the way that you've seen, scene was do it in games over the years where you can suffer and suffer and suffer. When you go 1v1, the second half you turn around, these are going to do and you can see the penalty and you turn it down. So you've set up to be solid, you're now playing -2 after 15 minutes. What happens to you for spirit, gone, destroyed, beaten up, that we've won, that was no one's ever done that to us in my time at the club. Yeah, they come to our patch in 10 days time whenever it works out. We remember how that felt. Yeah, we're going to do it on our patch with our players, with our group available. It will be a very, very different chest to see in the one moment to the North East. Next up is a chat with women's first team boss, Calvin Williams, who is now well over here into the role. It's been a fantastic recent period for his side, thanks to big wins over Warrington Town, Runk or Lynets and Whirl Phoenix. Here he is now speaking to the sales podcast. Calvin speaking to you off the back of Sunday's 6-0 win over Whirl Phoenix, you must have been delighted with that performance. I couldn't believe it, really couldn't believe it, they were considering how organised Whirl Phoenix are, considering the results they've had where they played top of the league, then they played second and they've got two points over possible six, which is credit to them, I thought it would have been a game where we need to be our best and to be fair to us. We were our best, you know, Sophie O'Neill was going five, but it's easy to give the credit to her where it's actually more a team performance. And we need to not get by inside about that. It was a team effort and everyone was really stepped up on the day. I mean, pleased with that performance, but two games in November and two wins in those as well over Warrington Town and Runk or Lynets, do you really see signs of progression within the team? I think the difference is now it's a group that have really gelled. Previous in the season that we were missing players that clearly going all day, Avery Elks and going all day, Emma Claus was going to be in a way where now we've got a group that is we're missing players that are missing for the right reasons because they're not being selected because the players are back and they are really jelly and there's a group now. And I think that proved with the recent results that we're on, the points return that we're getting and obviously where we are in the table, where we win our games and we go second, two points back now, which were previously it's. We'll go second with seven points behind them or something like that. It really shows the character of the group and I'm really excited between now and the end of the season, bringing on. And you only had two games in October and then two games in November, various reasons, postponements, etc. How tough was that for you and the team sort of stay focused on what you need to do? I think it was very tough, but you know, it's easy for the players to throw in the towel. I think they've seen it more as a. They want to use it more as a thing to go right. We need to really knuckle down because it backs against the wall because they've seen teams picking up points or dropping points and they were going. Do you know what? Let's not get caught up in it actually. Let's look at it as it is and go, we need to win our games and use it as motivation for us to really push on. And that was the message between now and the end of season. We don't look at the lead table. I know I just mentioned it because we have to mention it, but the group are really moving on the way to go. And no home game in two months as well. That must have been to a few and the squad. I think I lived on the dual garage way. I'd really be honest there. It was nice to be back at home and to have a nice home crowd to get a 6-0 win. When it was really nice, but it was very demanding and it was very soft. But the points return off the away travel we've had is really good. You and yourself, what have you learnt so far this season to make itself as a manager? I learned more already this season than I did this season where last season it was. I had no preseason. I didn't have a group of players where this season I've had a yellow group. I've learned more about teams where a lot of teams now have got a lot of resources and I think it's how we deal with them resources and how we learn as a group to make sure that we can make sure that we prepare the group as best as we can, also as well learn how to manage staff better, how to manage players better. Everything about it and it's been great this season. Whatever happens to be now in the season I can look back and go, do you know why it's been a really good season. Also, you've said you've had players missing through holidays, injuries, etc. Obviously you've said that you've got a lot of them back now. Do you really feel there's a tight-knit bond between the squad? Yeah, 100%. I think when you first looked at them at the beginning of the season they didn't really speak. It was a bit odd because I think it was hard for players coming in, players going a holiday, players getting knocks and then trying to get back in where now they're a big group of mates and that's what we wanted to see like me and Bryson were massive on that and I think with the break we've had they've been able to gel together group and actually getting to each other and that's why I think the result that we had on Sunday is why we got it. Going on, you've got a Cup game on Sunday then another little bit of a break but in that Cup, how much are you focusing on all competitions, not just the league? I think that it's nice because we can actually look at it now and go, if we get momentum and keep momentum going, we will be taking this Cup very seriously and we want to be getting one further than we did last year. I think it was the cause, we got two, we lost the FC United. We got to look at it and go, right, we got to get the game by game but we know what's upstate for next round and that next round is at home, back at the dealer and that would be really nice for the players to have another game out of the dealer stadium. You said there would be two points off Nampwich if you win your games and is that where you site to set or is it game by game? Game by game, 100%. I think we don't look at anything else, we don't look at what people do, we just worry about ourselves and you can't look at it because just because we've got the four games and we don't earn the rights of each second, we've got to go right. You've got to then points to get to that second place and there's some really good teams like Manchester laces, there's Runkall in it, who can still cause upsets along the way and we've still got to play Manchester laces twice and other teams own relegations on them so we need to be our best to make sure we get the points. Finally, home games in the new year, how much would you like to see supporters get down and support the women? I think they'll be very shocked at how good the women's team are, I think they'll have a nice little feeling that the players will. I definitely appreciate the home support, I know the players will appreciate it and what it would be nice to go on this journey together to make sure we can actually push as far as we can and the highs we can in the league. As always we really appreciate all your unbelievable support on the sales podcast and look forward to many more as the season moves into 2026. Bye for now and see you soon. [Music]