Striker has the talent to fire us up table – Lee
Date published: 10 January 2014
HEAD MASTER . . . Adam Rooney has a high goal-scoring ratio when given the right service. From only 11 crosses that have touched his head in the penalty area, he has scored four times and hit the post once
LEE Johnson was still a month away from landing the manager’s job when Athletic travelled to Stevenage last season, but the situation in which he finds himself ahead of another Boro test is very similar.
Tony Philliskirk was the caretaker boss who presided over a 2-1 win — a game Athletic, on the back of a big FA Cup-tie against Merseyside opposition, had to win to pull clear of the relegation zone.
Tomorrow Johnson will hope to achieve the same conclusion.
His idea is that the radical change at the club which followed his first nine months will now start to give way in favour of calmer times, with tinkering rather than wholesale change the order of the moment.
“We had such a whirlwind period in 2013, changing the philosophy and recruitment in what we have done,” Johnson said. “At times, we have really lived up to the hype. And at times, we dramatically haven’t. It’s been two steps forward and one-and-a-half back.
“The key is, can we now build around the core group? Trim round the edges and bring better quality in and grow the club?
“There are always pitfalls. It has been topsy-turvy, but I believe in the core we have here. Hopefully, people can stay fit for a while. I am sure we can go on to another good spell.”
Athletic’s present run is not good. The likes of Gary Harkins, David Worrall and Adam Lockwood have been brought in to try to break a hex which has seen the club without a win in the last six league games.
Before that Johnson’s side went through November unbeaten. Hitting that form again is down to eliminating mistakes, he argues.
“What has cost us is individual errors in both boxes,” the manager said. “Cut those out and get the fortune we didn’t have in the first half of the season — plus everyone fit and adding a couple while trimming the edges — then we will be strong.”
