Coventry City striker Gary McSheffrey thinks that last Saturday's performance at Kettering was below par and improvements can be made.
The 28 year old striker scored his first goal of the pre-season campaign which turned out to be the only goal of the game.
Being critical of the his side's performance, McSheffrey said to the CT: “I thought we were poor in the first half and, personally, I thought I let the game pass me by so there were a few tough words from the manager and that gave us the kick up the backside that we needed and for 15 minutes we dominated and caused a good few chances, got the goal and in the end we didn’t want to come off. It is amazing how two halves can change and I am just glad that we took something out of the game."
“We have trained hard with the ball and had a couple of good performances against Nuneaton and Hinckley, and it was a step up in quality on Saturday where Kettering had some good quality and some ex-pros and sometimes you can’t explain it."
“I don’t think we were horrendous but just not playing with a purpose and we were keeping the ball for the sake of keeping it and not really going anywhere, but for 15 minutes in the second half it was totally different and we were carving them open and could have been three or four up before we came off.”
McSheffrey went on to praise the younger players in the squad and who have been given the chance to show their manager their skills and abilities when playing with the senior side.
“The kids have done well and all got a half in the games and it gives them a taste,” said McSheffrey. “We are getting to know them at Ryton in training every day and getting a better understanding of how they play.
“Like everything, I think the game has moved on and times have changed. When I was coming through we had a really good youth team and it was hard to get a game back then and when you did get to train with the first team or in a pre-season friendly you really had to earn it."
"Nowadays it is how it is and the younger players are part of the squad and with squad rotation they can get games. That’s important for them but I think it was a lot tougher a few years ago, but as long as they relish it and appreciate it and don’t get above themselves then I think they will be fine, because they are good players, but they seem to have the right attitude on the pitch and hopefully one or two can come through because there is definitely potential there.”