Steve Kittrick: Telford starting to believe
AFC Telford United manager Steve Kittrick reckons he's instilling belief into the players after his first win since taking charge.
The Bucks won 2-1 at Aldershot in the Conference Premier this afternoon, only their fourth victory of the bottom club's league campaign.
A Neill Byrne header and a Joe Oastler own goal saw Telford claim a deserved three points, despite Brett Williams setting up a tense finale.
He said: "I thought we played well in the first-half. There were a lot of pluses, a couple of minuses.
"I think we over-played it a couple of times but I can't turn round to them and say 'play football' and then 'don't play football.'
"They have got to choose when to play and when not to play and, in the first-half, we played some really good stuff.
"I said before the game 'go and enjoy it, trust your team mates and pass it in the right areas' and I think they did.
"They have got to buy into it, and they have got to play when they can play. When they can't, like for the last 10 minutes when we had to dig in and be a unit, that is what we did.
"At half-time I said that we needed to be the next team to score, and we did. We had another couple of chances.
"You don't become a bad player over night and I have said to all the players that, if you look everybody's CV, they are good players.
"It is just a bit of belief (that is lacking) and having that confidence. But we are four unbeaten now and long may that continue.
"When Neill Byrne went down (following a crunching late tackle) in the second half, he was saying 'I want to come off.'
"But I said 'no, you are staying on' And I have said to him afterwards that you have got to believe you can do things.
"It's too easy for players to come off sometimes and he's probably proved to himself that he can get through that pain barrier and do well.
"Godfrey Poku told me he was 80 percent fit and I have said to him that when you are 100 per cent fit, we have got some player on our hands.
"But fair play to him and Jack Rea who has come in to a new environment, a new club and I think he has been tremendous.
"They have both worked hard together in the centre of midfield."
