Whoever comes in to take over, first task will be to re-establish some confidence and self belief back into the team.
The win on Sunday was down to some luck, yes, but it was a win, and as such will have lifted the team spirit, (they, like us, had no doubt forgotten what a win felt like). Not trying to make excuses for the overpaid spineless good for nothings, but keep in mind, they have also had to put with almost a season and a half of Koeman, with his inconsistent, unbalanced line-ups. His sacking has made no difference to this, as the team is still fragmented by more chopping and changing, as Unsworth tries to find the his own magic mix that makes a team gel. The return of the injured should help, but that is down the road.
Like it or not, our first team squad has become a bunch of snowflakes: melting when the going gets tough. The fact that Niasse (the man with no locker), has become our top scorer, and the best example of the "never-say-die" ethos of the great winning teams of our past, shows how low the current team's confidence has sunk.
The installation of "true blue" Unsy is not the catalyst the sentimental thought it would be. But what are the alternatives? Like most of us, the players probably feel a cold shiver at the thought of Allerdyce sitting in our dugout, spitting out his gum as he yells for more hoofball.
We need to build on this win, stop experimenting with the line-up, and play to our strengths. But who is going to do this? We are in a pickle, caught between a rock and a hard place. Hang on with Unsy for a while and hope things improve, while the board try to tempt a high end star boss to come in? Or break the glass on the fire alarm and call in a short term trouble shooter?
In the meantime, we are going to need more of that good luck and "Niasse never-say-die" spirit to get through the next few games!
The win on Sunday was down to some luck, yes, but it was a win, and as such will have lifted the team spirit, (they, like us, had no doubt forgotten what a win felt like). Not trying to make excuses for the overpaid spineless good for nothings, but keep in mind, they have also had to put with almost a season and a half of Koeman, with his inconsistent, unbalanced line-ups. His sacking has made no difference to this, as the team is still fragmented by more chopping and changing, as Unsworth tries to find the his own magic mix that makes a team gel. The return of the injured should help, but that is down the road.
Like it or not, our first team squad has become a bunch of snowflakes: melting when the going gets tough. The fact that Niasse (the man with no locker), has become our top scorer, and the best example of the "never-say-die" ethos of the great winning teams of our past, shows how low the current team's confidence has sunk.
The installation of "true blue" Unsy is not the catalyst the sentimental thought it would be. But what are the alternatives? Like most of us, the players probably feel a cold shiver at the thought of Allerdyce sitting in our dugout, spitting out his gum as he yells for more hoofball.
We need to build on this win, stop experimenting with the line-up, and play to our strengths. But who is going to do this? We are in a pickle, caught between a rock and a hard place. Hang on with Unsy for a while and hope things improve, while the board try to tempt a high end star boss to come in? Or break the glass on the fire alarm and call in a short term trouble shooter?
In the meantime, we are going to need more of that good luck and "Niasse never-say-die" spirit to get through the next few games!
