An excellent November for Blyth Spartans saw the club climb to 6th in the league and progress in two cup competitions earning Mick Tait the Blue Square Bet North Manager of the Month award. In managerial circles the accolade can be a kiss of death as a bad result often follows but for Tait, the stunning victory over Fleetwood Town in the FA Trophy proves he is an exception to this theory. On receiving the award, Tait said: “You don’t really think about winning it, it’s not something you focus on but by the end of the month a few people had mentioned it. We’ve turned it around from the first part of the season and have gone on a great run.”
An indifferent start to the campaign was followed by budget cuts which resulted in several players leaving Croft Park. Tait believes the group of players have become stronger in the face of adversity: “We had a few words about what we were really here for and the lads have responded brilliantly. They have rallied around and the team spirit is the best I’ve seen since I’ve been at the club.”
“The good thing is that we have really intelligent footballers who take on board instructions and can react to situations. I always knew that last season would be difficult for the younger players but those lads have really matured.”
Victory over Fleetwood Town in the FA Trophy was Blyth’s eighth win in nine competitive games. It might have been the shock of the round but Mick Tait had good reason to be confident before kick-off: “Nobody else expected us to win but we were really up for it. Everyone in the dressing room believed we could do it. They (Fleetwood players) had a look at the pitch when they got here and judging by the look on some of their faces they would rather have got back on the coach and went home. We made sure their negatives were turned in to our positives.”
“There’s nothing better than when the crowd get behind you. We got an early goal and never looked back. We won about 6 50/50 tackles in front of the dugouts and you could hear the roar. I was confident we would win the game from that point onwards.”
Spartans haven’t conceded at Croft Park in six games and Tait believes the defence isn’t the only part of the team that deserves recognition for this: “We’re defending from the front and looking a lot more solid through the middle. We’re not getting caught on the counter attack as much and are not giving teams time and space to play.”