Buckle ready to spring a surprise on Cambridge

Hatters boss Paul Buckle will keep tomorrow’s opponents Cambridge United guessing as to how his side are going to line up for their Blue Square Bet Premier clash at Kenilworth Road, writes Mike Simmonds.

Town switched to a 3-4-3 formation for their 4-1 home win over Macclesfield Town on Saturday, but despite it working and working well, Buckle might change things up once again.

Speaking to the press this afternoon, he said: “We’ve played 4-3-3, 3-4-3 and 4-4-2 so it’s anyone’s guess what we’ll do tomorrow night.

“I felt we needed to freshen things up after a draw and a defeat at home, and a really good performance at Ebbsfleet.

“We did it with the system. It worked. The players bought into it and we caused them problems. I’ve looked at the DVD and although they had a lot of the ball, they never really hurt us.

“They played in front of us and we picked them off, so it was really pleasing.

“Janos only had a couple of days, and we don’t accommodate (players), that’s not the way we work.

“It’s something we’ve looked at in pre-season and with Jan only having a few days training, he got through the game.”

Although Kovacs came off in the dying moments of the clash, Buckle had no fresh injury concerns ahead of the match.

He continued: “He got through the game and training today has gone well as well.

“The most pleasing thing for me is that the team is doing well without Ronnie Henry and Jon Shaw, (Gary) Richards, (Danny) Spiller.

“Everyone’s working together and there’s a great atmosphere around the place right now.”

Visitors Cambridge haven’t started the season in the greatest of form as recently went down 2-1 at home to newly-promoted Dartford and have picked up nine points from their opening six games.

Buckle will do his research on the U’s beforehand though, as he said: “The key is to understand what the opposition are trying to do.

“Our job as coaches is to work out before the game as best we can and then once the game starts, I always say to the players after 10-15 minutes, they should be working out what they’re trying to do.

“I felt on Saturday, without sounding disrespectful, it was quite easy for us to work out. They were trying to work the ball and pass the ball, but as long as we kept a good shape, I felt there would be gaps behind them.

“Macclesfield come off the back of four straight wins so we put that to bed. It’s about us. If our performance levels are good, we make if difficult for the opposition.

“Cambridge will pose a threat, they’ll come to win the game as it’s a derby that the players are up for.

They’re a big club, a league club who are trying to get back into the Football League.

“It’s going to be a good atmosphere, games under the lights at Kenilworth Road are exciting and something we’re looking forward too.”

Although Town were beaten once again from a set-play by Macclesfield, on watching the footage back, Buckle wasn’t overly concerned on this occasion.

He said: “The set-play was disappointing but when I looked at it again, there’s not an awful lot Janos could have done.

“The lad has flicked it from in front of him and it’s crept under the bar. We did a lot of things right and six points out of six have been very pleasing for me and the players.”

The victory was Town’s first at Kenilworth Road this season and Buckle was well aware how crucial home form can be to a team challenging for promotion.

He added: “We’re delighted and know how it’s important to win games at home. We’ve got points on the board and we want to add to that.

“We had a good chat this morning, trained well and it’s the together thing. The staff, players, fans know we need every last ounce to get where we want to be.”

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