Armstrong demands improvement as Gateshead prepare for Boreham Wood

Gateshead manager Alun Armstrong has called for an improvement at both ends of the pitch as his side look to finally rack up a home win against Boreham Wood on Saturday afternoon.

The Heed have endured a torrid time at the International Stadium during the opening months of the National League season and have claimed just one win and five points from their nine league games on their home patch. That solitary victory came in the opening weeks of the season as a Will Flint brace saw off Tamworth - but that kickstarted a run of two draws and five defeats on the south bank of the Tyne.

One of the key factors behind Gateshead slump in league form has been their inability to keep clean sheets and an increasingly frustrating habit of giving away easy goals. Only Morecambe have conceded more goals than Gateshead’s total of 43 so far this season and Armstrong has admitted that his side must cut out the basic mistakes that are being made if they are to claim a win against a Boreham Wood side currently sitting in the National League play-off places.

He told The Echo: “We still know what we have got but when you look at the goals we have conceded, they’re so basic. We have to work so hard to get goals and create chances but the opposition aren’t having to do the same to us. That’s really basic stuff and we have gone through it time and time again in training and on matchday. We are letting in sloppy goals and I hate saying you have to get back to basics but I think with defending, that’s the way it has to be for us."

Powerful

Although much has been made of Gateshead’s defensive frailties, there is also a need to improve in attacking areas after they scored just three goals in their last five National League games - and veteran frontman Frank Nouble is the only attacking player to have found the net during that time.

Top goalscorer Kain Adom is enjoying a season that far surpasses any expectations after he scored 11 goals in 19 appearances and wing duo Harry Chapman and Kyle Hurst have pitched in with five goals apiece during the first three and a half months of the season. Armstrong insisted loan signing Kian Pennant can add something to his forward line once the Leicester City youngster gets off the mark for the club and stressed their is a need to play to the strengths of his attacking options on a regular basis as they seek to arrest their poor form.

He said: “We have to try and play to their strengths and you look at young Kian coming in, he’s done smashing and I think he just needs a goal and he will take off. He’s a quick and powerful lad and I like to have quick strikers when we can and I think him and Kain could cause a lot of damage if we play to their strengths and they you have Chappy (Harry Chapman) and Hursty (Kyle Hurst), there’s quality there. We have quality to score goals but when you concede the confidence drops and maybe you aren’t as bright. We know how good we can be when we have that confidence and we have to try and fix that by improving in both boxes.”

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