Tomkinson Asks for Consistency Ahead of Hindley Juniors

Manchester Central manager Chris Tomkinson has urged his side to find consistency following their 2-0 victory over Altrincham Hale last weekend.

Tomkinson was thoroughly pleased with how his team performed in their return to Division One action, and particularly enjoyed the maturity his side showed especially coming off the back of a tough period for the club.

‘The maturity of the performance pleased us the most. The way we played before the break wasn’t great, but this weekend the lads listened to what we wanted them to do, and they executed it brilliantly. It is a great step in the right direction and hopefully it can continue this weekend.’

Before the Winter break, Central were on a horrid run of form, and since October waited until last weekend to pick up a league victory. The Central gaffer made sure to highlight the importance the break was for his side, and how it allowed them to reset ahead of the restart.

‘The break was 100% needed. Even the postponements before Christmas came at the right time for us, having three weeks off not having to think about it constantly. After Saturday’s performance, I hope the lads can see the positives in the way we want to play and progress going forward.’

‘Hopefully the win on Saturday gives them a real boost in confidence. The performance was brilliant, we were able to nullify a very good side which was the most pleasing aspect. We need to just find that consistency in front of goal but that will come, we are hoping we can kick on now with some tough games ahead.’

Central lined up with a completely new system than what we have been used to seeing in recent years, with Tomkinson going with a four at the back rather than the usual back five system that has been consistent with Central line ups. The Central boss echoed the need for a fresh change ahead of the restart to the season.

‘We most certainly needed to freshen it up. We had two lads who haven’t played for us before and they came in with huge quality, improving us massively. Also having Dennis (Jerome) back was a huge boost for us as he was a major reason we got promoted last season.’

‘We made it a major focus to improve defensively and changing to a new system certainly made a difference last weekend. I intend to have consistency in all aspects and know this cannot be a one game thing, we must maintain consistency.’

‘It certainly gives us a more stable base to play from. We conceded less opportunities against a good side and we were also able to counter at pace with bodies at both ends of the pitch. I think it would have encouraged the lads to know that it worked.’

It was ultimately a brace from Junior Silva that made the difference on Saturday. Tomkinson was not only happy with his display but pleased with how he was able to fit into the new system.

‘Junior did very well when he came on and took both his goals well. He could have had two more as well, but it was great for him and for us to immediately hit the ground running. He has lots of ability and has more to show I’m sure of that. He was able to fit into the system we played and understood what we wanted him to do.’

Following on from the crucial win at the weekend and looking ahead to Hindley Juniors, the Central gaffer warned his side to not focus on the standings, and instead to focus their attention on maintaining the standards they set against Altrincham Hale.

‘We need to ignore the table and how our opponents are performing. There’s been times this season like against East Manchester where we’ve lost, and they were second or third bottom. It’s a case of we’ve set the standard, and that’s what we need to keep now.’

‘We overcomplicated things slightly and took the emphasis away from what we are as a team. As a club we are all about hard work, character and desire and that’s what got us promoted last season, which has been lacking. Saturday’s performance was a step in that direction.’

Chris Tomkinson also stressed the need for consistency, now that his side have fallen behind. He expects his side to build on Saturday’s performance and result.

‘These lads must be consistent now and start picking up points regularly. We need to be hard to play against as we’ve been too easy to beat this season. We need to start putting that right and carry the momentum on from last weekend.’

‘It’s always important to pick up results, mainly for confidence. You never know what can happen if you string a run of 5 or 6 games together, it can propel you up the table, whilst in our case it can help going into a cup final later in the year in good form. Consistency is something we will be echoing to the lads for sure.’