Martin Allen spoke to barnetfc.com this morning, ahead of the Bees away match against York City.
The Bees manager began by discussing Tuesday night’s victory over Newport, saying:
“I’ve looked over the Newport game, and it was a very good all-round performance.
“The team played very well and had good energy.”
Mark Randall scored his first goal in a Barnet shirt at Rodney Parade, and Martin reflected on his recent performances:
“Mark hadn’t played competitive football for a long time until recently,” he said.
“He had a hip operation, so it was always going to take time for him to get up to speed.
“He’s a good technical player.
“I’ve been trying to improve the technical side of our game, because the courage and spirit is there in abundance.
“We all enjoy watching that extra bit of quality, and Mark certainly brings that to the table.
“It was good for him to get a goal, with that follow up from the penalty.
“I love that sort of goal, and he’s an all-round good lad – I’m really pleased for him.”
Martin went on to provide an injury update to Bees supporters, revealing:
“Bondz N’Gala won’t make it for the York City match.
“We’ve had seven games in 22 days, so you’re always going to be liable to injuries in spells like that -especially because we play quite a high tempo style of play.
“Bondz hasn’t actually injured his hamstring badly, but there’s a tweak and we must take care of that because he’s an important player.
“Curtis Weston hasn’t made this trip either – he’s got an adductor injury.
“Once again Curtis has been on fantastic form for us recently, and has been outstanding.
“But other people have come in and done the job.
“So it’s positive that we’ve got enough good players to come into those places, and it’s given opportunities to some young players as well.
“Shaun Batt has travelled this week, as has Michael Gash.
“Michael trained with Gary Waddock yesterday, and he’ll train again with Gary on Friday afternoon in York.
“Then he’ll train again on Saturday morning, and after the game too.
“So he’s going to get four sessions in those three days.
“He’ll be a sub, but I don’t think that we’ll actually be using him.
“Some of our young lads will be in the youth team tomorrow morning, to get them 90 minutes – that’ll include young Nana Kyei and Maty Stevens.”
Barnet’s manager went on to assess the Bees performances in their recent games, saying:
“There was the disappointment of the home game against Hartlepool United, but for half an hour of that match we did actually play very well.
“They scored a brilliant goal from 25 yards that flew into the top corner, against the run of play.
“That changed the whole game and we didn’t play that well in the second half.
“But overall, since we made some changes after the Newport match in the FA Cup, we’re moving things along nicely.
“I was well aware then that changes had to be made.
“The players that have come in have really done well – Mark Randall, James Pearson, Alie Sesay and James Roberts.
“The other lads have picked up too, and the changes have certainly brought the age of the squad down.
“As well as the signings, the young players have also brought a fresh energy to the team – it’s been impressive.”
Looking ahead to this weekend’s match, Martin said:
“Every game that we play is difficult, and every match has its own challenges.
“For us, our challenge is to get on the best form that we could possibly be on.
“We want to bring the form from Tuesday night into Saturday’s game.
“The players have been well rested for two days, and we’ll train on Friday afternoon when we get up to York.
“We’ve spoken to the players and said that we want as many points as we possibly can.
“We want as many points as we can get on the board, and to finish as high up the league as possible.
“We want to keep the momentum going, and our improved away form is something that we’ve been working towards all season.
“Now we’ve got to keep it going and keep our supporters happy.”
