‘Old-school tough’: Langmead plots gruelling training sessions to spark Banbury United revival
Kelvin Langmead has admitted he will be putting his Banbury United players through their paces during their upcoming week off fixtures.
The Puritans, winless in seven matches after most recently losing 2-1 to Leiston, have a 10-day window without a game.
Langmead wants to make the most of the time, calling his players in for three sessions this coming week. The boss will be making sure they all contribute.
“The only way we change it is by working hard,” Langmead told the Banbury Guardian.
“We don’t have a game next Saturday, so the boys will be in Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. It will be tough. It will be old-school tough. We’ve got to put hard yards in.”
Throughout his 22-year playing career which included spells at Shrewsbury Town and Northampton Town, as well as Banbury, Langmead had his own tricky moments.
In those times, the Puritans boss ensured his standards didn’t drop, always maintaining a strong mentality to get back to his best.
“As a player, I had times when I struggled individually and collectively as a team, whoever I was playing for,” Langmead explained.
“The mindset was always the same; we’ve got to work harder and do more. That will be the case now.
“I’ve got to find a way to get more out of the group, to help players regain confidence and get back to what we were really good at through pre-season.
“We’ve fallen off and at the moment we’re not good enough. There are key areas we need to get better in.”
What’s making Langmead all the more motivated is the fact that the recent attendance numbers at the TUGO Community Stadium have been dropping.
The fan-owned Banbury need all the financial support they can get, so Langmead is determined to get the results flowing again and, in turn, seeing more gate receipts.
On the fans, Langmead added: “I understand why they stay away when the product - so to speak - that they come to watch isn’t going right and we’re not winning games of football.
“The atmosphere is impacted by it and I get it. We need to find a way to get them back and that’s by winning games of football.”