Mentality has been the primary focus for the Rovers squad in training this week, Grant McCann has revealed.
The Rovers boss spoke in the aftermath of the defeat to Wrexham about an absence of killer instinct costing his side points so far this term.
And as he prepared for Saturday’s trip to Forest Green Rovers, McCann was keen to address the issue with decisive action that he hopes will help to deliver a first league win of the season this weekend.
“We’ve focused on it this week,” McCann said. “There’s been a different element to our training this week. We’ve focused a lot on the mentality and the mental side of the game - when it’s more mental than physical.
“It’s making sure we’re ready for the challenges that come our way on Saturday. Forest Green have got good players in their team and players than can really hurt you if you switch off for any moment in the game.
“It was a real point that we made as a staff, and particularly myself, on Monday morning that we need to work on that side of the game with the group and we’ve seen a real benefit of it this week.”
McCann is confident Rovers are close to ending the search for a maiden league win but is certainly conscious that actions speak louder than words.
He said: “We can’t keep saying it but I don’t think we’re too far away from turning things around. As the games keep going along we need to start acting rather than speaking about it.
“We do believe things are turning. We can’t worry about it but it’s frustrating with the injury side of it when you’re getting people back and then there’s new doubts. There’s no consistent level on that yet.
“But we know that performances are improving with every game that we play. We had numerous people contact us after the Wrexham game including Steve Cooper from Nottingham Forest who sent a message to Lee Glover saying we were excellent.
“We know we’re close but close ain’t good enough. Close ain’t going to get you results. We need to be turning performances into wins.”
On injuries, McCann said there are doubts over a couple of players who featured at Wrexham last weekend.
“There’s a couple of players we’re waiting on before the weekend, which is frustrating for us,” he said.
“Ben Close has trained this week, which is positive for us. He’ll come back into consideration for the weekend. But there’s a couple from last week’s game that are touch and go.”
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