THE footballing maxim goes that managers learn more from defeat than triumph – and its one Jim Harvey certainly agrees with as he prepares to take Chester to out-of-form Tamworth on Saturday (3pm).
A 3-2 defeat to a Richard Brodie-inspired York City team on Tuesday night was something of a reality check for the Blues after a three-match winning run raised hopes that they could yet pull off the seemingly impossible and escape the Blue Square Premier drop.
But rather than cutting a downcast figure after seeing his side miss the chance to move within a point of the big zero, Harvey believes the reverse, Chester’s first on the road since August, has given him a greater insight into the players he inherited from Mick Wadsworth – and plenty of food for thought for the trip to a Lambs outfit who have lost their last six.
“We defended poorly throughout the heart of our defence against York and the starts in each half were really poor,” said Blues boss Harvey.
“Certainly when you’re away from home and up against opposition like York you have to dig in for 15-20 minutes until you get acclimatised to the game. We have to make sure we get the other side of the game right before we try to play our football, which we didn’t do against York.
“We’re not going to win all of our matches and we knew it was going to be difficult at York, but if we can learn from the experience and take those lessons into the game against Tamworth then it will have been worthwhile.
“There’s certainly things I’ve learned from the game and hopefully I can point the team in the right direction for Tamworth.”
With on-loan Blackburn Rovers centre-back Johnny Flynn away with Northern Ireland Under 21s, Harvey must decide whether to continue with the defensive partnership of captain Tim Ryan and Shaun Kelly at the Lamb Ground.
Prospect Kelly has only just returned from injury and Harvey admitted he was “short of legs” against the play-off pushing Minstermen, who were buoyant after knocking Crewe Alexandra out of the FA Cup three days earlier.
Fit-again midfielder Anthony Barry, who like Kelly scored his first goal of the season at KitKat Crescent, impressed from the bench and he is pushing for a starting place against Tamworth.
Almost certain to start on Saturday is livewire winger Michael Coulson, for whom the clash will be his last before his loan from Barnsley expires.
Coulson said: “If we can keep on putting performances in like we have been doing, we should be in plus points soon. Hopefully we’ll then be able to push on and get out of the relegation zone. I’m enjoying every minute of it at Chester. We’re getting the ball down and playing good football so I don’t see any reason why we can’t climb the table.”
