Tranmere Rovers Head of Youth is going back to basics with his young squad as they attempt to cut out conceding goals from set-pieces.
Rovers last two matches have both ended in defeat but it is the manner of the goals that have been conceded and not the performances that Shaun Garnett has been bothered about.
Rovers lost 2-1 to Crewe in the FA Youth Cup before falling to a 3-2 defeat against Stockport County in the Football League Youth Alliance.
Both games have seen Rovers concede cheap goals which Garnett has not been pleased about.
Garnett, said: “Performance-wise I was fairly pleased with the lads. The response was positive after losing in the Youth Cup. The most disappointing thing was that we gave two goals away from set plays and lose the game from a winning position.”
Rovers had led the game 2-1 after goals from Max Power and Cole Stockton but were undone, not for the first time this season after some poor defending from set-plays.
“We knew Stockport would be up for the game after we beat them (4-1) a few weeks ago so it’s up to us to react to that and put in a shift. People can’t afford to switch off or not challenge at set-pieces, they should’ve known after the Youth Cup how damaging that can be.”
“We’ve conceded 21 goals in the Youth Alliance this season and 12 of them have been from free-kicks and corners. Teams are not cutting us open. We are conceding goals because we are not doing the basics right.”
“Players are not going to progress if they can’t master the nuts and bolts of defending. We are not the biggest of teams but we have to compete and challenge so the opposition don’t have free headers. It is something we have to work on.”
Rovers have no fixture this weekend.
