By Unbeaten run suggests Daws is slowly turning around Scunthorpe United’s fortunes
Scunthorpe United’s interim boss Tony Daws appears to be slowly turning around the fortunes at Glanford Park.
Since taking over the reins from Keith Hill, the Iron have only lost once under Daws and are unbeaten in their last five matches.
Although that hasn’t resulted in a surge up the National League table – given that four of those games have ended in draws – the performances have been much better from the players.
They have also shown a lot of resilience lately, too. United have won seven points from losing positions during those five games, which is the same amount as in their previous 46 matches when conceding first, according to Iron Stats.
Before being pegged back by Oldham Athletic in Tuesday night’s draw, they temporarily moved up to 16th place in the table. That shows that just a couple of wins could quite easily see the Iron take a big jump outside the relegation zone.
There have been suggestions, though, that the unbeaten run could be similar to what was seen during the early knockings of Hill’s tenure when the club also went five games without defeat, despite only winning one of those encounters.
But the key difference is that Scunthorpe do actually look capable of scoring goals and winning games at the moment – something the side of almost a year ago certainly did not.
A former striker himself, Daws quickly recognised that the Iron needed to get more men forward and into the box – and that has been the case lately.
During the latest five-match unbeaten run, they have been in the lead on three occasions and have created enough chances to, potentially, take all three points in each of those games. It would be more of a worry if they weren’t creating anything at all in front of goal.
In Joe Nuttall and Caolan Lavery – supported in behind by the lively Rob Apter – United have a front line that can – and will – cause most teams problems at this level. It’s just about keeping them fit and, more importantly, at the club for the remainder of the season.
Although the defensive record still hasn’t been great, the side does look more balanced and is defending better as a collective unit.
The shift to a back three has added another defender to the heart of the backline, while the wing-backs are ensuring fewer crosses are coming into the box.
That was a key area for concern at the start of the campaign and resulted in a number of opportunities – and goals – for the opposition.
There is no doubt that while the club still sits only one place from the bottom of the table, victories are going to be required to stay in the league and avoid another relegation.
But if the players keep doing the right things and maintain the same desire and commitment they have shown over the past month under Daws, the results will come.
