Boreham Wood manager Luke Garrard asserted his view that the club’s first win is just around the corner, after two impressive performances frustratingly ended in a draw and a loss.
The Wood play their second home match of the season on Saturday, as Solihull Moors travel to Meadow Park and Garrard says that he is not looking to change much ahead of the fixture.
The 31-year-old stated: “I feel that we have to get on the front foot like we did in the second half against Dagenham. For me, if we do that then I think we can cause them problems.
“I have just watched the footage of their game against Leyton Orient and they utilized the ball very well and shifted it with a purpose, so it is going to be very much about our game plan.
“We will play with an energy and a tempo that will look to try and exploit where we think their weaknesses are.”
Like the Wood, Solihull are still awaiting their first win of the season, after a disappointing defeat to promotion favourites Leyton Orient last Tuesday.
The Moors travel to Meadow Park with a new look side, after manager Liam McDonald added a series of new recruits to his team in the off-season.
Garrard continued: “Liam McDonald has brought in a load of new recruits from the level below and he knows what they are about and what their credentials are.
“You only need to look at the calibre of people who have come out of that level and gone on to be successful; the likes of Omar Bogle, who went from Solihull to Grimsby and then to Wigan.
“Liam will know the calibre of personnel within that level and they will know him, so I can’t see that being a weakness and I don’t think that we can play on the fact that they are from the division below.”
Despite many of McDonald’s signings being relative unknowns to the National League, Garrard confirmed that he has done his research and knows exactly what to expect from them.
“They have all got ability to play at this level, and he wouldn’t have brought them in otherwise, so for me it is very much about us and how we go about our game plan,” he commented.
“I want my players to assert their authority early on in the game and like I said, if we play like we did in the second half against Dagenham, then we can cause them problems.
“We watched a DVD this morning of highlights from the Dagenham match, only a fifteen-minute clip, but just to show the boys where I felt that they played well, and it has given them a little bit more belief.
“We were camped in their half in the second period, and I felt that Grant Smith didn’t really have much to do in that time, and I need more of the same.”
The Wood were hit with a series of injuries in the leadup to the match against Dagenham & Redbridge, but Garrard remains confident of their return.
The former defender also praised those who stepped up to fill the places of the injured, saying: “You look at us on Tuesday evening and Ryan Johnson and Tom Champion were able to filter back into the defence.
“For me, we have quality across the board, but I just want more of a headache come Saturday, so at least when I look behind me, I can change it around and effect the game from the bench.
“Hopefully I will have a couple more bodies to choose from, which will bolster us and it will give us a little bit more coming off the bench, if not the starting eleven.
“But if you look at the calibre of personnel that we have in our ranks, it is impressive, I felt that Bruno Andrade was phenomenal on the night. He needs to go back-to-back with games like that and become more consistent.”
Poor starts to matches have condemned the Wood so far this campaign, after conceding in the early stages against both AFC Fylde and Dagenham & Redbridge.
Garrard insisted his belief that the side have address this and come Saturday, will be the team to do the damage early on.
“The poor starts are something that we have addressed and spoke about,” he assessed. “We have got to eradicated the poor decision making and the defensive errors.
“But I also feel like we have defended well at times, I felt that on both Tuesday and the Saturday before, we defended ever so well.
“Maybe it is a lapse in Concentration, maybe it is early stages, but every game we will build on and every game we will regroup and go again.
“I believe that what we saw during the second half on Tuesday evening is something that we can kick on from and take into Solihull.
“It is only one point on the board at the minute, but I feel like we should maybe have four, but that is football, we move on and we are hopefully that come Saturday we can celebrate a win.”
