Tomkinson's Thoughts Ahead of Hindley Juniors

Images From: Manchester Central Flikr, Credits: Rafaella Macintosh.

Manchester Central travel to Harrison Playing Fields on Saturday afternoon to face 9th-placed Hindley Juniors. We asked Chris Tomkinson for his thoughts ahead of the fixture which could lift Central into 4th place in the Manchester Football League Division One, depending on other results. Here's what Chris had to say:

"Firstly, I'd like to express how pleased I am with last weekend's performance. Despite the game being abandoned, I think it was the best performance that the lads have put in all season. Bolton United couldn't deal with our athleticism or our directness, and I thought that our link-up play was fantastic."

"After a few poor performances in recent weeks, I think that there has been a positive change in the collective mental attitude, as the whole team has realised that the results haven't been good enough over the last month. This stems from the huge turnout to training sessions recently, with the recent arrival of two or three new players and a few players beginning to return from injury or suspension. However, I also think that the squad has finally understood their roles, and really started to gel as a unit."

"Therefore, last weekend's performance is something that we have to replicate going forwards this season, especially if we want to be in and around the top 3 at the end of the season. I want to see the team put in the same level this weekend against Hindley Juniors."

Images From: Manchester Central Flikr, Credits: Rafaella Macintosh.

"Hopefully, after coming away empty-handed despite the 3-0 lead at the point the game was called off, the lads will have a burning desire to get the points this weekend. We always look forwards to games and I think the whole group will be up for it now they've shown their level."

"At Hindley, I'd like to see much of the same. I know they have the desire and character, but last weekend I saw a level of ruthlessness going forwards, with quick passing movements in attacking spaces. The whole defensive unit was also solid. Simply recreating last weekend's performance is the aim for this weekend. We know what we need to do, and if we execute it correctly, we know that teams will struggle against us."

"You could say that I'm aiming to recreate the 6-0 win we had when we visited Hinley last season, rather than the 5-2 loss when they travelled to us, I suppose! That shows just how competitive this game will be, and that anyone can win on their day. However, I'm expecting it to play out differently this year as we have almost an entirely new line-up from what they faced in 2021/22. Therefore, it may be somewhat of an unknown, however, all we can do is arrive with a level of focus and desire, put in a professional performance and fight to take home the three points."