Ahead of Walsall‘s Boxing Day visit to Bristol Rovers (weather permitting of course), our festive hosts caretaker manager Darren Patterson has been keen to point out he is an attack minded coach.

The former Northern Ireland international defender is best known in these parts for his spell at West Bromwich Albion, and ahead of Sunday‘s clash he has told ThisisBristol.co.uk:

“I am an attack-minded coach and I want us to play attacking football – that has always been my philosophy and it always will be”

“Being a former centre-half then yes, I want clean sheets with it. But I’d rather have a 4-3 victory than a 0-0 draw. I want us to win football matches and I want us to get at other teams.”

“I don’t know where this thing about me being a defensive coach has come from – as the assistant manager I worked on all sorts of stuff. Maybe it was because I was a defender as a player,” he said.

“I’m a big believer in team defensive play and in quite a few games we’ve defended quite well as a back four, but individual errors have cost us.

“I believe defending starts from the front and works its way back. I am very concerned at the amount of goals we have been conceding – but I also want us to score a damn site more.”

 

 

 

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Bristol Rovers in League One trio chasing Ellington – http://www.walsall.web-fans.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1074