Karl Robinson feels Salford are still underachieving despite recording an impressive win at in-form Crewe.
The Ammies are unbeaten in four games since Robinson replaced Neil Wood and they proved too strong for an Alex side chasing a fifth consecutive win to maintain their promotion push in League Two.
The Railwaymen found Matt Smith almost unplayable on a day when the giant striker claimed the matchball, sealing his hat-trick with an 85th-minute winner to add to his second-half equaliser and an early opener.
But despite Robinson’s promising start to life in charge, the Salford boss let his players know he and the club have high standards.
He said: “Crewe are a really hard team to play against and we made changes at half-time that made a difference.
“I thought we dominated most of the game in the second half. If we can keep this going forward then we can make an impact.
“It’s about players playing at the level of performance we expect as we know we’ve got good players.
“But we are still underachieving and our league position shows that. The players have been good since I’ve come in and we have to carry that on.
“For us to come from behind and win here was good, a large part of our performance was very, very good.
“Salford came here last season and were 3-2 up and ended up losing 4-3.
“We didn’t come here to draw. Salford should be winning games and it is all about winning.”
Crewe led at half-time as goals from Aaron Rowe and Elliott Nevitt wiped out Smith’s fourth-minute opener.
But Smith responded with two more goals in the second half to take his tally for the campaign to 19.
Robinson said: “Matt has got to score goals. That is his job as it is the keeper’s to keep out goals.
“But when I spoke to the owners when I came in I knew I had a striker who was capable of scoring that many goals.
“He is that much of a threat and he’s shown that again and he’s paying the club back with the goals he gets.”
Crewe manager Lee Bell says his players quickly need to move on after a below-par display.
He said: “We were below our usual standards and this league can bite you if you are not at it.
“This has really got to sting us. I can’t fault the lads for what they were trying to achieve and they have outstanding character and belief, which we showed getting ourselves 2-1 ahead.
“But Matt Smith is hard to stop and while we did the work to do that he was the difference today.
“You expect us to cope with a game like this better, but you have to credit Salford for slowing the game down. We’ve had a really good run of results and we can’t let this knock us off track.
“It’s hard to take positives and I’m looking more at areas where we need to improve.
“But Elliott Nevitt was a real threat again and his overall attacking performance is getting better week in and week out.”
'It's an honour' - Flick delighted by Messi's Barcelona praise
Hansi Flick says it is an "honour" to hear Lionel Messi praise Barcelona's start to the season.
Flick took over as Barcelona head coach in May, with the club making an impressive start to LaLiga, as they sit top on 33 points after 13 matches.
They have won 11 of their games, losing the other two, while they are sixth in the Champions League table, just three points behind leaders Liverpool.
Messi, who spent 17 years at Barcelona before leaving to join Paris Saint-Germain in 2021, recently described Flick's team as "spectacular", in particular lauding his use of young players in the team.
The German has not shied away from using academy players during his time at Barcelona so far, with Lamine Yamal the standout of the bunch after he carried last season's form into this campaign.
Yamal is the only player across Europe's big five leagues to complete 25+ dribbles (34), create 25+ chances (26), have 25+ shots (39), score 5+ goals (five) and provide 5+ assists (seven).
When asked how he felt about Messi's comments, Flick was delighted.
"It's an honour to hear the best player in history say that he likes this Barca," he told reporters.
"He follows the team closely, he has his heart set on this club, that means a lot to the youngsters and to the team."
Barcelona return to LaLiga action when they travel to Celta Vigo on Saturday, looking to extend their lead at the top of the league.
Simeone makes LaLiga history with 700th game in charge of Atletico
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has become the first manager to take charge of 700 games with the same LaLiga club.
The Argentine hit the milestone as his Atleti side welcomed Alaves to the Riyadh Air Metropolitano on Saturday.
Simeone first took charge of Los Rojiblancos in December 2011 and has gone on to become the most successful manager in the club's history, having brought eight honours to the Spanish capital.
The former midfielder guided Atletico to the LaLiga title in 2014 and 2021, while also overseeing two Europa League triumphs in 2012 and 2018 in addition to helping them reach two Champions League finals.
Saturday's game is Simeone's 492nd LaLiga match in charge - the most by any manager at a single club - and he has also managed the third-most games with a single club in the Champions League (109), after Alex Ferguson with Manchester United and Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
Atleti have won each of their last four matches across all competitions, and another on Saturday would be the 54-year-old's 300th in the Spanish top flight.
Sheffield United go top of Championship with draw despite Ahmedhodzic red
Sheffield United went top of the Championship following their 2-2 draw away to Coventry City despite twice surrendering the lead.
Chris Wilder's side are one point ahead of second-placed Sunderland ahead of Saturday's other matches although, after Tyrese Campbell put them one up after 13 minutes, they would have been hoping for a bigger lead.
Coventry forward Norman Bassette equalised nine minutes later, but Jesurun Rak-Sakyi had the visitors back in front on 34 minutes, having been set up by former Coventry man Gustavo Hamer.
Then came the game-defining incident, with Anel Ahmedhodzic sent off in the 44th minute after grabbing Bassette by his neck and throwing him to the ground. Tempers flared into half-time, but it was the home side who piled on the pressure in the second half.
The managerless Sky Blues got their reward 10 minutes from time through Bobby Thomas, meaning that they have now come back from losing positions to draw in back-to-back matches. They sit 16th in the table.
Elsewhere, Burnley went third after their second straight 1-0 victory as they beat Bristol City on the road. Jaidon Anthony scored the only goal of the game, although the home side created plenty of pressure and saw a penalty claim denied in the second half.
Scott Parker's side, nevertheless, kept their fourth clean sheet in five to get themselves back in the hunt for the top two.
Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff City shared the points in a 1-1 draw at Hillsborough that does neither side many favours in their aim to climb clear of the relegation scrap.
Both goals came within two first-half minutes, with Ollie Tanner getting the visitors ahead from a Callum Robinson rebound in the 34th minute. The lead didn't last long though, with Di'Shon Bernard on hand to scramble home and restore parity almost straight away.
The result leaves Wednesday in 14th, four points above the bottom three, while Cardiff are 19th and just a point above third-bottom Luton Town.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
