Dolly Blues' squad game

Phil Brown says the strength in depth of his squad will be key to keeping his Lancaster City side top of the table.
Lancaster's Jacob Gregory (photo: Tony North)Lancaster's Jacob Gregory (photo: Tony North)
Lancaster's Jacob Gregory (photo: Tony North)

The Dolly Blues chief, who could have 21 players available for the trip to second from bottom Goole on Saturday, saw his bench have a big say in the 3-2 derby win over Bamber Bridge.

Jacob Gregory was amongst those to star off the bench as City made it back-to-back wins having seen off bottom side Burscough four days earlier.

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“The squad is quite settled,” said Brown, who has not ruled out further adding to his squad.

“I might have to bring one or two in, I’ve talked about adding a bit more experience, but I’ve always said they’ve got to be the right person.

“Performances like Bamber Bridge support that.

“Some people are saying we won that game from the bench.

“When you look at your squad you’ve got to think about the 11 and then how the five subs can make an impact.

“We dominated the second half and then when we needed to kick on again we made the changes.

“It’s really a team effort, a squad effort.”

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The victory, and Ossett Albion upsetting Ossett Town 1-0, saw City move three points clear at the top of the NPL First Division North with Brown insisting there’s more to come.

“I wouldn’t say it’s daylight, it’s one game,” he said.

“It’s the first time we’ve been top through having more points though, and it’s nice to see. We play to our strengths.

“We’re a fit team, an energetic team, an honest team who work hard to put teams under pressure.

“We try and win the ball back in good positions to counter attack and break quickly. In the main it works.

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“You’re never the finished article and I’m ultra-critical about our performances.

“I’m also realistic though, we’ve won 15 games out of 22.

“I’m more than happy with how we are playing but you are always looking to get better, always looking to improve.”

Goole may be struggling but Brown knows his side need to be ready for a tough examination at the Victoria Pleasure Grounds.

“Our away form has been decent and we just need to go there and be ourselves,” said the City boss.

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“If we’ve got aspirations of winning the league we’ve got to take something from Goole away.

“They’ve not been walloped by anyone recently though and have picked up a couple of wins.

“They’re not adrift, it’s quite tight and they’re only a couple of wins from mid-table. It’s no walkover.”