Bamber Bridge skipper Matt Lawlor looking to build on recent successes

Bamber Bridge are looking to carry on the momentum that they have built up in recent weeks when they travel to Witton Albion tomorrow.
Matt LawlorMatt Lawlor
Matt Lawlor

Brig are on a three-match winning streak after victories over Buxton and Stalybridge Celtic in the league and Tuesday night’s 4-1 success over Prestwich Heys in the Lancashire FA Challenge Trophy.

Skipper Matt Lawlor admits there is a terrific feeling around the club at the moment.

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And he believes the players are beginning to adapt favourably to the demands placed on them by new manager Mick Taylor. “The last couple of weeks have been really good,” said player-coach Lawlor, who is part of the backroom staff at the Sir Tom Finney Stadium.

“The lads have really bought into what we are trying to do in training and in games.

“The performance and results in the last three games have been really promising.

“But even before that the performances have been good even if the results hadn’t quite gone our way.

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“I think the performances showed that we were going in the right direction.”

Taylor has tried to implement a more defensive solidity to Brig since he took over from previous boss Neil Reynolds, although Lawlor revealed there were only a few tweaks required.

“We like to play football – everybody knows that,” he said.

“That has been in place for the past seven or eight years from when Neil Crowe was manager through to Neil Reynolds and now with Mick in charge. We have not strayed too much away from that.

“I think maybe we were a little bit too expansive and we were conceding too many goals especially coming up against higher-class opponents which we are doing in this division.

“So we have tried to be a bit more solid at the back.

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“Nothing’s really changed in terms of when we are on the ball, but for example instead of both full-backs bombing forward, one will stay back.”

The past two wins in the NPL Premier Division have pushed Brig back up the table and a win over Witton Albion could see them start to look towards the play-off positions.

However, Witton will be tough to beat even if they are down in 18th spot. The men from Wincham Park have played considerably 
fewer games than many of the teams around them.

“I think in this league, if you lose two or three you can slip towards the bottom but if you win two or three you can start looking towards the play-offs,” Lawlor said.

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“Witton are on a similar sort of points total as us. They have a decent budget and some good players.

“We played them not so long ago at home and beat them 2-0. We know they are a good side, but we just want to carry on the momentum.”