Interim head coach Rossi Eames is looking to build on Barnet’s second-half performance in the 2-1 defeat to Stevenage last weekend when the Bees head to Cheltenham Town on Boxing Day (3pm kick off).
After a lacklustre first half the Bees, aided by a pair of half-time substitutions, roared out the blocks and were level within two minutes when John Akinde stroked home a penalty.
However, Barnet failed to reap the reward for a much-improved second-half showing and Luke Wilkinson’s first-time strike settled the contest.
Speaking on Wednesday as the Bees prepare for the first of four fixtures in quick succession, Eames underlined the importance of building on an encouraging showing after half time against Boro.
“When the players came back in after the Stevenage game they were hurting,” he said. “It wasn’t intentional that we didn’t play so well in the first half.
“The second-half performance was excellent and the players know that’s what they can do.
“All the focus has been on doing what we do well, improving how we’ve been playing and that has been the positive from training this week.”
The festive fixture schedule is a staple of the football calendar and something which sets English football apart from much of the rest of Europe.
However, it is business as usual for the Bees, even with interim assistant manager Henry Newman involved in his first Boxing Day encounter.
“You can look forward to it as much as you want but we want three points,” stated.
“Come 5 o’clock on Boxing Day I’ll tell you how great a day or not it has been – and I’m sure it will be the former rather than the latter because we’ve had a very good week’s training.
“We’re taking on board the areas of improvement we need to take on board from, particularly the first half, against Stevenage; looking to right the wrongs of that and build of some of the positives of the second half.
“We know if we can produce that second-half performance over 90 minutes we think we’ve got a very good chance.”
You can watch Rossi and Henry’s full interview below:
