It’s fair to say very few people would have seen League Two leaders Stockport County getting hammered 4-0 away at an out-of-form Tranmere Rovers side on Saturday.
However, after a shock result and some questionable defending from Dave Challinor’s side, he had plenty to say about his players’ work ethic and performance yesterday afternoon.
Off the back of their 3-1 home defeat to fellow promotion hopefuls Crewe Alexandra in midweek, where all three of the away side’s goals came off the back of set-pieces, County’s boss was visibly furious that they managed to concede a further three goals from set-plays at Prenton Park when he spoke to official club media after the match.
“There is a lack of desire and organisation to keep the ball out of your net”, is what he first had to say on how his side had dropped off so badly defensively in the last couple of games, with the seven goals conceded in the last two matches being more than how many times their defence was breached six games prior combined.
The former Hartlepool United manager, who was also a defender back in his playing days, expressed more frustration at the recent defensive slump, highlighting that the reason that his side are at the top of the table at this stage is down to the fact that they have “built themselves on being defensively solid and organised”, and he is not wrong, as even after back-to-back heavy defeats, Stockport still have the joint-second-best defence in the league.
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Challinor did not stop there when criticising his player’s defensive desire, claiming that if some of his players “do not learn from, it they won’t go very far in their career”. And when you look at the goals that Tranmere scored yesterday, one cannot really disagree with the County boss, with poor marking on the first three set-piece goals followed by calamitous defending that allowed Connor Jennings to add a fourth for Tranmere late on really rubbing salt into the wounds.
The Stockport County manager also addressed the fact experienced defender Fraser Horsfall was not in the matchday squad due to him picking up an illness before the game, but highlighted that the ex-Northampton Town man’s absence was not an “excuse” for his side’s dreadful defending.
Things do not get much easier for the League Two leaders, with a trip to play-off chasers Gillingham next up on Tuesday night for them to come. Challinor has publically called for more from his players ahead of the long journey down to Kent, asking his side to “show some spirit and fight”.
The quick turnaround will allow Stockport to put things right defensively and hopefully get back to winning ways as they try to put the misery of the last two games behind them. But as their visibly frustrated manager outlined in his interview, the attitude to defending from set plays has to change as soon as possible, or you best believe they may not be top of the league for much longer.
Writer’s View
All top sides are going to have a dip in form throughout a 46-game season but it is clear to see that Dave Challinor is more annoyed about the manner of the goals that Stockport County have been giving away recently rather than the final results.
With their recent set-piece defending aside, the Hatters are still one of the best teams in League Two and are strong contenders for automatic promotion, but just need to get back to winning ways as soon as possible to prevent two consecutive defeats from turning into three or four.
