Richie Wellens did not get ahead of himself following a resilient 1-0 win away at Port Vale.
Elijah Adebayo, who replaced Marc Richards after an injury in the warm-up, scored the game’s only goal early on in the first half which eventually sealed a valuable three points in League Two.
Town’s young defence had to withstand heavy aerial bombardment in the second half as the Valiants searched for an equaliser but, led by Sid Nelson and Luke Woolfenden, the Town stood firm.
Wellens, after his first win in charge was frank about how he wasn’t completely pleased, despite the result.
“I’m still a little bit frustrated. We were good in the first half, just a little bit away from being very good – we should’ve ended the half two or three goals up.
“The second half wasn’t football for me. Everytime the ball was given away, we knew it was going in the box. For all our deficiencies last week where we didn’t have to defend much but we switched off, today we had to defend a lot.
“Credit to the boys at the back and the goalkeeper (Lawrence Vigouroux). They put their bodies on the line when it was needed. When we get the ball, I would like us to be a bit more composed. In terms of the effort and application, I was very pleased.”
The 38-year-old Gaffer said that having a full week in the job, featuring a friendly win against a Bristol Rovers XI, was much needed as he looked for clarity in his team selection.
“When I came in and picked the team last week, my ideas were clouded and maybe I listened to people too much but I did want their input.
“I’ve gone off this week with my own ideas and the practice match was really good for us. I saw what Kyle Knoyle could do, we beat Bristol Rovers 5-0 and he set up three so he can attack. Today, he was solid and he got forward more.
“You have to (look forward) – these types of games are emotionally draining because there’s no structure. You know it’s just about the ball going in the box – if you don’t win the first ball you have to win the second and just defend.”
