Shropshire Star

AFC Telford boss Gavin Cowan calls for more composure

AFC Telford United boss Gavin Cowan has called on his side to show a killer touch as they seek a return to winning ways.

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The Bucks go into Saturday’s FA Trophy first round tie with lower-ranked Farsley Celtic looking to halt a run of consecutive defeats.

Defeats against Bradford Park Avenue and Altrincham have not seen Telford outplayed, but Cowan’s men have been guilty of not creating more for their dominance or taking their chances.

“I’m looking at the overall performance. It’s just the final ball at times, we just have to switch on our composure in the final third,” said the New Bucks Head chief.

“We were in control (at Altrincham) and felt very good.

“It’s just about getting the lads together and understanding where we are. We’re in a position that nobody expected us to be.”

Cowan explained how his side will analyse areas they are not firing on all cylinders with and try to rectify them in training.

With 25, the Bucks are the lowest scorers in the National League North’s top 13 sides.

“We do a lot of analysis work which I believe is a really positive thing,” he added. “The players don’t want to be in a classroom, they want to be out on the grass. We’ll identify three or four positions and how we want to work them. Then we’ll have good 20 or 30 minute sessions on those.

“But football’s very unpredictable and the players have to use their intuition.

“Composure in the final third is all I’m looking for.

“I firmly believe if we’d have taken even half of our (missed) chances we’d be even better off now, it’s the gilt-edged chances where you’ve got to score.”

“It’s not like we’re not creating chances, but we’ve got to be more composed and clinical.”