Dalziel coach Wilson urges troops to prepare for physical battle

Jan 26 2011 by Andrew Weston, Wishaw Press

DALZIEL head coach David Wilson has warned his side they will need to front up physically if they want to take anything from this weekend’s league match at Ardrossan Accies.

The Motherwell lads are on a run of five games without a win and Wilson feels his charges need to learn quickly to cope with the challenges they will face in the second half of the season.

Last year’s unbeaten National One champions began their first season in Premier Three in a positive manner winning six of their opening eight games but have since dropped into mid-table after their recent run of defeats.

This Saturday Dalziel take on Ayrshire based Ardrossan Accies away from home and despite having beaten the same side 19-9 earlier in the season, Wilson feels it will be a tougher task this time around.

“The second half of the season will be more challenging because teams know what you are all about,” he said.

“Reflecting on the teams we have played this season Ardrossan were one of the more aggressive sides we have come up against.

“We are not good at coping with that sort of aggression and that’s something we need to improve upon.

“Where some are relishing the challenge others are finding it a bit uneasy.”

He added: “Their back-row is particularly strong, they cause problems from scrums and they run at a good pace on to the ball.

“So we will need to be at our very best to get a win.”

Wilson also believes his young side need to improve their game management skills and feels this season is a steep learning curve for them as they compete against more streetwise opponents.

The former Glasgow Hawks coach said: “Having come up from National One making pretty easy work of it, they are now having to cope with sides that are asking more questions from a defensive and attacking point of view.

“The guys are now having to realise they are not going to be able to make one line break and score, they have to go through the phases and be more patient in their play and manage the game much better.

“We went up to Howe Of Fife recently and got beaten 10-8 when we had 80 per cent of possession and really should have won the game out of sight.

“But we didn’t because when we got into good areas of the field we were impatient.”

He continued: “A realistic target for us is to try and finish in the top six this term.

“I think that would be a good effort and looking to next year we need to focus on areas to improve upon as a team and the players need to take on more responsibilty in terms of working on their weaknesses so they improve as individuals.”