Neil McDonald On The Mackems Match

Last updated : 30 July 2006 By Thetashkentterror

Neil McDonald
United boss Neil McDonald spoke to BBC Radio Cumbria's Derek Lacey on Saturday evening as he gave his opinion on the 3-0 pre-season friendly defeat at home to Sunderland. McDonald talking about the goals that the Blues conceded during the game :


" I think we paid them a lot of respect, we played the ball on the floor, we've had lots of inter-link play, and then when you give teams that have just come out of the Premiership a little bit of time, then they bend a 35-yarder into the top corner. They mishit a shot and bring the ball back to chip the goalkeeper and then a free-kick from 25 yards, so hopefully we don't concede goals like that in the league. They are a good team though and I've said to the players in the changing-room that if that is where you want to be then that is where we are going to go.

" I don't think the keeper (Keiren Westwood) has had any chance to save any of them, slightly the second one I suppose where he has been chipped, but when they scored their second goal we were really chasing the game I suppose, then the third one was likely to come. We stuck at it though, we played some decent stuff and we created a few chances as well, so there are a lot of positives to be taken out of a team that has just come out of the Premiership. Yes, they are expected to win, of course they are, and I just said to the players for next week that we've still got to work hard and we've still got a lot to do before the season starts.

" You do learn from games like these though, if you don't keep your shape and you don't press at vital times in the game then you get punished and that's what they've done. The attitude and the tempo to start off with was fantastic, and hopefully the crowd enjoyed the first 40 minutes or so where we were right at it. We were competing against a team that knocked the ball about and kept the ball, which is what we want to do, but we've competed with them and we've gone right to the end even though we were 3-0 down. They never gave up though and that's the most important thing, never give up.

" We'll watch the video of the game but the concentration is 100% on Doncaster now, Sunderland has gone and to be fair you have to have your wits about you but it wasn't all about Sunderland today. It was about another 90 minutes of high tempo football which I think we've probably lasted around about 75 minutes until they've got their third goal. Then they've kept possession which is what teams do when they are 3-0 up, but it was a really good workout, and a good fitness test as well a good tactical test as well. "