Salisbury's Dutton warns squad are still “in infancy” following Beaconsfield draw

Thursday, 10 August 2023 01:00

Salisbury FC manager Brian Dutton has warned that his squad are “in the infancy” following a 1-1 home draw to Beaconsfield Town on the opening day of the season.

Dutton took charge midway through last season and inherited a mis-matched squad which was not suitable for his possession-based passing system.

After signing 12 new players this summer, the manager has now built a side who are more capable of keeping the ball on the ground and playing out from the back.

However, Dutton admitted that it will take time for his team to reach their full potential, saying: “We’re in the infancy at the moment.

“You are seeing snippets of what we’re trying to do, it’s clear to see that I’m trying to get the ball down on the floor and play out (from the back), but we’ve got to have end product and that’s the last piece of the jigsaw.”

Dutton spoke to us in an exclusive interview before the season, and he expressed frustration at having to field tralists in Salisbury’s last two friendlies.

He admitted that the completed squad had barely spent time together before the Beaconsfield game, saying: “We’d probably not even had a training session with our full compliment of players yet (before the Beaconsfield game).

“We’re well on our way with our build-up play, but we’ve got to make sure we’re lethal up the other end of the pitch too.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Dutton commented on the appointment of new centre-back Sido Jombati as captain, the controversial penalty and his immediate thoughts after the Beaconsfield game.

Listen to our full interview below:

Salisbury play AFC Totton away in their next league game this Saturday.

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