I was outspoken about my frustrations regarding our negativity during the last 2 away games and i still believe we could have got a bit more out of these games if we had been a tad more adventurous. Having said that we were playing against top and 3rd in the division so i can understand why Warnock would haave set up the way he did.
Since he took over the reigns it would surely be impossible to deny that he has done a superb job in arresting our certain relegation and taking us up to a respectable 16th. We were dead and buried when he arrived and though we're not out of the woods yet I'd be shocked if we were in the bottom 3 in may.
Warnock's impact doesn't end with our current league position though. I think perhaps the biggest change has been not only the returning crowds both home and away but also the returning passion and decreasing apathy.
I honestly didn't give a shit if we won or lost under Slade and i can only think of two games Bournemouth home 1-1 and Leeds home 0-2 where i got mildly animated.
This has changed and i find myself leaving the ground gutted when we lose again.
The biggest and most encouraging change for me is Warnock's willingness to use the those cast out under Slade from the academy (or should i say under 25)
I know Slade signed Kennedy and toyed with the use of Kadeem Harris but Warnock has already used Mark Harris, Kennedy, Healey, Harris has been given a prominent role in front of Pilkington and Noone and yesterday he had Declan John on the bench.
This joining up of the academy and first team holds the biggest source of encouragement for me and is essential if we are to be successful without a war chest. I believe we would had far more chance of keeping hold of Matondo if this was the case last season and the restructure of the dvp squad is pushing kids so they don't stagnate like O'Sullivan amd Wharton etc did.
I'm not a huge fan of seeing our defenders playing "percentages" everytime they receive the ball, however the pro's of Warnocks reign far outweigh the cons at present.
