By Graham Kelly
April 1 2024

Two games over Easter where we played clubs who we should have beaten. Bradford and Colchester both came into the matches against us in poor form. We lost at Valley Parade and gave away two points at home to Colchester. People keep saying we need to improve the squad next season. I think we need to improve our key decision making.

Against Bradford, on a pitch that could easily have come from Emmerdale, it was clear that Apter and Jennings would struggle. Apter plays well at Prenton Park because our playing surface is excellent. At Valley Parade there was no run of the Green for him. Similarly, Connor Jennings is at an age where an uneven pitch, or one resembling the Somme, is going to cause him a few problems. The decision to leave him on for a full 90 minutes is questionable.

At home to Colchester we failed to use our subs properly. A good example is the managements indecisiveness regarding bring Dennis on. He was warmed up and ready to go before the injury time board went up. Yet we never saw him enter the fray and instead Sami Taylor was brought on to replace an injured Morris.

In the general scheme of things this may not matter too much, yet I can't help thinking that one of the weaknesses Adkins has is not knowing when or how to use substitutes. This was a criticism made of him when he was at Charlton, and he needs to get better at his in game decsion making. Regardless as to who we have playing for us, making the right changes at the right time is essential.