Davies: We’re tough to beat

Oct 13 2008 by David Triggs, Chester Chronicle

SIMON Davies reckons morale in the Chester City camp is as high as ever after watching his players grind out a hard-earned point on Saturday.

The Blues had to dig deep before sealing a 1-1 draw at Chesterfield, who fought back impressively after falling behind to Paul Linwood’s early header.

City boss Davies was quick to salute his team’s collective desire and determination.

He said: “What we’ve got in the changing room is belief and there’s a massive togetherness. We had a little bit of a blip a couple of games ago against Lincoln, but in the last eight games we’ve been beaten once and that ain’t bad.

“We’re showing we’re a tough team to beat. We’re going to need to add a couple of wins to these performances, but there is a degree of passion there that you can’t buy.”

Davies refused to criticise rookie defender Shaun Kelly, whose moment of indecision allowed Jamie Ward to net a second-half equaliser for the Spireites. Kelly, 19, was otherwise outstanding alongside Linwood in the heart of Chester’s defence.

“It’s hard to go in there and have a go at Shaun,” said Davies, who had a hand in Kelly’s early development when he was City’s youth team boss. “The lads worked their socks off and played some good stuff at times. They stuck together. It’s hard to have a go at Shaun because he doesn’t mean to do it.

“He’s put his body on the line for a couple of shots and they could have ended up in the back of the net.”

Davies also revealed that the club would be taking disciplinary action against striker Paul Taylor, who missed the trip to Chesterfield because he was unwell.

It was the second time in a month Taylor had pulled out of a match at short notice through illness. The 21-year-old missed the 3-1 win over Grimsby on September 13 in similar circumstances, calling the club on the morning of the game itself.

Davies said: “Paul Taylor will be getting disciplined again by the club. We’ve kept it under wraps for quite a while now. “He’s already had a verbal warning and a written warning, and he’ll now be getting his final written warning.”