Mark Yates looks ahead to Friday night's away trip to Rochdale in npower League Two.
Mark Yates talking to the press ahead of Friday night's npower League Two visit to Spotland:"The club is very different since I took over three years ago and I think for the better. There has been a feel good factor here for the last 18 months but a lot of people here have worked so hard to make that happen. It has been a steady progression and hopefully we kick on over the next few months. You always want success but it doesn't always happen straight away. When we first came here it was a bit of a mess and it was well documented that we had a really small squad and a strange mix of personnel as well as no money. Everyone has worked so hard, from top to bottom, and we all pulled together.
"I think the pleasing for me against Port Vale was the reaction that the players weren't going to rest on their laurels. They are playing for places and they are professional enough to know that the next game is always our most important. We are trying to get as many points as we can before Everton and we can then use that as a buffer before we get back to the bread and butter. We have some really tough games over Christmas but we are capable of winning them all.
"John (Coleman) is a good manager, a good man and he knows the game inside and out. They are having a tough time at the minute but we must try and add to that. We will look after ourselves and John will do the same. Apparently the pitch is decent and we have had them watched. They play good football but hopefully they let goals in too. We must go there to look after ourselves but hopefully we will expose a few weaknesses we can take advantage of but it'll be a good game with both teams wanting to play. We need a strong start, of course we do, but I'm a believer of that in all games. it's important that we don't go up there thinking it will be an easy game just because they've lost a couple of games. If our attitude is what it was on Saturday then we'll give ourselves a great chance.
"We will continue to monitor Russ (Penn). Everyone sees that he puts everything into his performance and if he needs a breather then that is what I'll do but he is really enjoying his football and he doesn't want to be out of the team which is a great attitude to have. Mo has had a few kicks and bad knocks on his ankle so that can take a bit of time but I'm hoping he'll be fit and ready to go tomorrow night.
"I'm doing my Pro Licence right now and I had to write a self assessment for the first part of it so I had to write about what you think you are as a coach. I think you need to be adaptable. You want to play a certain way and you want a core belief amongst your players but if you feel you can change it for the better then you must be strong enough to do that. We'll get back to 4-3-3 sometimes because it really does work for us but, for the time being, the lads are enjoying a new formation and we are creating more chances."