New Matlock boss Mark Atkins says the top priority at the moment is to make the Gladiators harder to beat.
Matlock lie just above the relegation area, but having played more games than anyone else, their position is precarious.
"I've seen three of the games while the caretaker managers have been in charge and therefore I know quite a bit about the squad. Matlock lack both leadership and experience on the pitch" he claimed. "So the first thing to be addressed is to look at our defensive work and to tighten up in certain situations to stop other teams from finding a way through so easily. We need to tighten up all over the pitch. The attacking play is good but we've got to make ourselves harder to beat."
Atkins, who began his playing career as a full back with Scunthorpe United before making his name as a midfielder in Blackburn Rovers' Premiership Title side of 1994/95, knows plenty about the art of defending to pass on his knowledge to his new charges who have conceded forty nine goals in twenty two league and cup games so far this season. Initially at least, he is prepared to give the present squad the chance to prove their worth to him.
"I was going to bring someone in straightaway but on reflection I'll probably hang fire for the next couple of games to give the lads the chance to work with me and to see how they react to me. Hopefully there'll not be too much tinkering to do, but I need to get their confidence up and for sure they've got to stop being sloppy and making as many mistakes. If the players perform then we'll not have to make changes but we will make changes if we need to."
Atkins is confident that he can turn around the Gladiators fortunes.They have now gone gone seven league and cup games without a win, being defeated on five occasions, so a win is now becoming increasingly urgent.
"The aim without a doubt is to stay in this league so we need to get some wins as soon as possible and get some points on the board. This is a difficult league this season with a lot of money being spent but we've got to get on with things and get winning some games. If we can do that and then we've got enough points with say two months of the season left we'll see how far we can go up from there."
Atkins' first match in charge is more like a home game for him as Matlock are at Frickley Athletic on Saturday. He lives barely twenty minutes away from South Elmsall at Finningley, near Doncaster, and he is anticipating a tough game against a side managed by former Matlock skipper Billy Heath and that has his brother Steve lining up in defence.
"I've been there before when I was at Stalybridge Celtic and it wasn't easy. In fact it's never an easy place to go. But in a way its a good first game as I'll probably find out more about the character of the team than I would if we were playing one of the top clubs. The lads will have to be prepared for a battle against a side who will fight for everything."
The Frickley clash is the second of a quintet of league games against fellow strugglers, with the run starting off badly as Ossett Town won 3-1 at Causeway Lane last weekend. Their next league fixture is at home to Worksop Town next Saturday which is followed by the return game with Frickley and a trip to Prescot Cables on December 13. A speedy transformation of results looks to be essential to Matlock's hopes of survival.
The Matlock job came at just the right time for Atkins. After a playing career which took in over 500 Premiership and Football League games, including a £1 million move from Blackburn to Wolves, Atkins played in the UniBond Premier for Harrogate Town before becoming assistant to John Reed at Wetherby Road. The duo left to take over at Stalybridge Celtic in 2005 before being sacked by the Bower Fold club in 2007 where he was responsible for all training, tactics and fitness as well as assisting Reed with team selection. He was briefly caretaker boss at both Doncaster Rovers and Shrewsbury Town.
"When I left Stalybridge Celtic I was going to go into management myself but things didn't quite work out as planned. I took a year out watching a lot of games and going to a lot of Premiership clubs to observe their training methods. I also used the time catching up on the various leagues and how they were changing. I watched a lot of non league football and when the job at Matlock came up I sent in my cv to see what would happen from there. Obviously I got the job and I'm looking forward to getting stuck in and bringing success for the club and the fans."
Atkins' second game sees him pit his managerial wit against former colleague Reed who is in the hot seat at Tuesday's UniBond League Cup opponents Buxton. Having gone out at the first hurdle in both the FA Cup and FA Trophy this term, Matlock will want to make it third time lucky at the Silverlands.
"It should be a nice contest. I've seen Buxton a couple of times, and they're not a bad side, probably being in a bit of a false position at present " warned Atkins who hopes to name an assistant within the next seven to ten days.
"The lad I'm after is on a contract at his club but we're working on it and hope he'll be with us soon."
