Ballyclare Comrades are starting to reap the rewards of their new coaching team of Paul Harbinson and Gareth Moody, insists forward Thomas Robinson.
After winning two of their opening three league games, the Comrades triumphed in just one of their next seven matches before Saturday’s impressive two-goal victory at home to in-form Ballinamallard.
That result means the County Antrim side have three clean sheets in their last four games in which they have collected seven points, having resiliently held fourth placed Dundela with just 10 men the previous week.
“They’re both on a learning curve and they have been open about it, but we know that things are moving in the right direction,” Robinson explained to Match On Tuesday when asked about the management team.
“For the first number of weeks we experimented with different styles and formations and after losing Kyle Beggs [to Glenavon] early on we needed to rejig again.
“The focus in recent weeks has been on defence and how we play both with and without the ball, to find the right balance of your shape while giving players the freedom to play and attack when it’s possible.
“The emphasis has been on how we deal with transitional phases of play, how we can play attacking football – which is what the comrades are about – but not to be so vulnerable.
“They have a clear idea of how they want us to play, they have their own ethos and we want to make that work.”
So how they have the new coaching team made a difference in training?
“They have brought in a level of professionalism which maybe previously hasn't always been there,” continued robinson.
“The training is really great – there is a really high intensity and a tangible level of quality, everybody has had a taste of winning and now we’re all desperate to improve upon that.
“We now have a situation where there are multiple players who think they deserve to be in the first XI and there is competition for every spot – if any player isn’t playing well, they will lose their place.
“The numbers at training are always very high and all the players are learning from each session, and that all comes down to the level of professionalism.”
Keep up-to date with all the very latest news, what's on, sport and everything else in Belfast and beyond with the Belfast Live app.
Only select news that interests you by picking the topics you want to display on the app's homepage. Plus, our enhanced user experience includes live blogs, video, interactive maps and slick picture galleries. Download it now and get involved.
Click here to get it from the App Store or here for Google Play .
