TOWN boss Paolo Di Canio has challenged his players to make The County Ground a fortress once again.
After their 1-0 defeat to Leyton Orient on their last home outing, the manager insists that the squad must put things right, starting with Bournemouth on Saturday.
He said: "We must forget the display we made against Leyton Orient and work to make The County Ground a very tough place for teams to come and play once again. The County Ground is very important for us and the challenge is there to get back to winning ways in front of our own fans. The performance against Leyton Orient was not good and we will not win here if we play like that again.
"Bournemouth have good quality and I am sure they will want to come here and play football in the right way with a good system. They will make it difficult for us and try and close the space down before attacking on the counter. This is a good test for us to see if we can play in the right manner and with discipline to win the game. We didn’t play well against Leyton Orient and we must not play like that this afternoon. We have to start again and make The County Ground a fortress again."
Di Canio went on to describe how the Town were adapting to stepping up a division to League One.
He continued: "This season we have noticed the improved finishing from League One sides. Last season we would maybe concede five chances and not concede any goals. This year we have had to extend our tension and be angrier in some ways to play against teams. We must take today’s game very seriously otherwise we will fall into a trap. AFC Bournemouth have quality up front and can hurt us."
To read more from the manager, pick up a copy of COYR, Town's new-look matchday programme, on Saturday.
