Ryan Peters: Magpies Looking To "Tweak The System" To Spur Change In Fortunes

Assistant manager Ryan Peters said the Magpies are looking to “tweak the system” in order to drive a change in fortunes following Saturday’s 1-0 defeat to Sutton United. 

 

Alan Devonshire’s side struggled to create chances throughout much of the match, and an improved second half failed to yield any goals in the Sutton net. The recent winless run marks a stark contrast to the five wins from six games enjoyed across late September and early October. 

 

“We were pretty poor today,” said Peters after the game, “especially in the first half. There were a definitely a few choice words said at half-time, because the make-up of an Alan Devonshire side is always to work as hard as you possibly can, and we didn’t show that in the first half. 

 

“The second half we were a lot better, but at the moment we seem to be lacking that clinical edge in front of goal – we’re not creating very much either. With a side like Sutton, if you get one chance, you have to take it, and we didn’t.” 

 

United’s recent run has included EFL opposition in the form of Crawley, and two sides who were in the division above just seven months ago. Peters noted that such opponents are ones which the Magpies “typically rise to”, but said much of the disappointment came from the manner of the recent defeats, rather than the results themselves. 

 

Emphasising the need to focus on strong performances, Peters said: “If we can get the performance element right, then the wins will follow suit. So, we are looking at ways to try and tweak the system and change things in order to make that happen. We tried something today – it didn’t quite work out, but we’re going to keep trying all we can to change the flow.” 

 

Fortunately, the injury list has shortened substantially in recent weeks, leaving Alan Devonshire with an array of options for Saturday’s fixture against Gateshead. 

 

“This is probably the first period in the entire season where the gaffer has had almost every player to choose from,” Peters said. “We’re still a few bodies short, but once we get to a stage where we have all the boys back, it’s going to be a hard selection for the gaffer.” 

 

A hectic October on the fixture schedule has morphed into a comparatively quiet end to the year. United only have two Tuesday night fixtures to play before the turn of the calendar year – one of which is a National League Cup game at home to Brighton U21. 

 

“With the depth of our squad at the moment, we probably would like to have a Tuesday game to be able to go again,” Peters said, “but [the absence of a Tuesday night game] gives us a chance to really go through things on the pitch over the next few days and get ready for our game on Saturday.”