Holden looking for ways to end hoodoo

AT THE DOUBLE . . . Dean Holden celebrates with Athletic’s two-goal hero Dominic Poleon.

BUCKING the trend is the name of the game for Dean Holden at Coventry tomorrow, as Athletic try to shake off their hoodoo against relegation-threatened sides.

In the last five outings against bottom-four teams, Athletic have lost four times and won once.

The manager indicated there will be tactical alterations at the Ricoh Arena: “We’ll try one or two different things in training, because if we keep doing the same things against these sides near the bottom then we will keep getting the same results — and they haven’t been too good.”

Coventry claimed three points in their battle against the drop by beating Colchester 1-0 on Saturday.

Tony Mowbray’s side is now four points and two places behind Athletic, who are 14th in the table.

Now only two points shy of last year’s final points total with four games to play, Holden was indebted to the work of two-goal Dominic Poleon at the weekend. Back in the side after being dropped at Crawley, the ex-Leeds man was the star of the show.

“Since I have been manager, I have been very, very pleased with Dom,” Holden added. “He has given everything for the team since I have been in charge. It’s a nice reward for him because he works hard. He creates chances and runs hard. It was disappointing he couldn’t get a hat-trick: he deserved it.”

As for referee Richard Clark’s decision to award a corner against the advice of his assistant Kevin Mulraine, from which Sheffield United produced their equaliser through Jamie Murphy, qualified referee Holden was reluctant to offer too much criticism.

“It is a snap decision and there is so much going on,” he said. “How many decisions do referees and linesmen make in a game? Hundreds. He should get it right really, but I don’t think he has done it on purpose.”

Joseph Mills came off the field at half-time after taking a knock and is being closely monitored.

Mat Sadler and Luke Woodland’s emergency loans from Rotherham and Bolton respectively have expired.

If not renewed, Connor Brown could switch to left-back tomorrow night if Mills is absent, with Brian Wilson restored on the opposite side.

George Elokobi and Amari Morgan-Smith are both back in training and warmed up on the field with the rest of the squad before Saturday’s game.

Meanwhile, a second round of interviews with prospective new Athletic managers is set for this week, with ex-Cheltenham boss Mark Yates one of the men who will be spoken to again.



twitter: @Matt_Chambers_