Hollyhead pleased to see Banbury United fans happy again
United sit in seventh place in the early SPL Premier Central standings, but are only three points off the top and have lost just two games so far.
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Hide AdAnd after such a torrid end to the last campaign which saw a long run of defeats and ultimately relegation from the National League North, Hollyhead has been keen to get the feel-good factor back to the club.
He said: “It’s nice to put smiles back on faces, but equally, when things haven’t gone our way, the reaction of the fans has spoken volumes.
"They’re totally committed to the journey we are on and appreciate the side only has an average age of about 23.
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Hide Ad"I remember the first friendly at RC Warwick, we won 2-0 and I could see the connection straight away. The reaction was incredible, we had more fans there than Warwick did, and that’s been something that has grown and the connection has too and it’s been really heart-warming.
"They are a really informed group of supporters. They can see what’s happening. You can’t do much about the result sometimes but if the players are committed in the performance then that shows and the fans will see that.
"It’s a long journey, but in comparison to last year’s squad we only have two or three that have stayed on. The rest of the squad is new, so for things to have gelled so well already is fantastic.”
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Hide AdHollyhead’s philosophical approach to the game is now well-documented and his man management too is becoming a key factor in bringing the best out of his players.
He said: “Obviously there was a big transition in the summer of players and staff and every club goes through that at some point, but I think we’re moving through the subsequent phases quicker than I thought we would.
"It’s very early days. The big thing for me has been the quality of people at this football club, both on and off the pitch. Fundamentally that’s the reason for the culture being so good in the dressing room and the foundations being laid.
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Hide Ad"Lots of people will look at the results and of course that’s what we’re ultimately judged on, but any coach will look at the performance too. We lost at St Ives but the performance was very good and not a reflection on the scoreline.
"I’m a coach who reacts to performances not results. Essentially what I’m trying to effect is performance levels, both individually and as a team.
"So far, I’m pleased with the performance levels and we’ve had some very good results. The consistency of performances has pleased me most, but the reaction to that St Ives defeat did too as we had 19 players play two subsequent games in the space of 48 hours against very good sides in Leiston and Alvechurch, and we won both games.
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Hide Ad"It’s a new squad, with a certain style of play, and people have really fitted into that.
"The intention was always to set the foundations. The best branches come from the best trunk. I have a clear way I want us to play, but while that might look good on a tactics board or paper, the players have to deliver it on grass.”
Goals haven’t been a huge feature of Banbury’s season at either end, with just ten goals being scored in their opening seven league games – six of them by United.
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Hide AdBut whilst Hollyhead is keen to improve the strike rate, he acknowledges that it’s about more than just that when it comes to winning games.
He said: “You have to be technically good enough and physically good enough. It’s at this level that tactical awareness really starts kicking in but we’re step three, not Premier League, so we’re not spending every day working on things.
"That shows you why the training time we do have is really precious so how we communicate has to be very considered. Contact time with players is so valuable.
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Hide Ad"People often don’t consider that these are people with full-time jobs, families and other stresses so the player will always be the number one priority, because if you take care of the person then you’ll get results as a player.
"We’ve played eight games in a month [Hollyhead was speaking prior to the FA Cup tie with Melksham last weekend] and that’s included spells of three games in eight days, two games in three days and so on.
"But in everything we’ve faced, and with all the due diligence we’ve done on every team we’re coming up against, everyone has adapted so well and the players are progressing quicker than we thought which has been fantastic.”