Mark Hughes believes Carlisle United can reap the benefits from some “productive” meetings aimed at easing their goalscoring worries.
The Blues have failed to score in their last three games amid their battle for wins in the League Two survival fight.
While Hughes has been pleased with United’s general performance level he accepts that improving in front of goal will be critical to their safety prospects.
The head coach has talked about “repetition” in training being an important way to try and drill consistency into players.
He also had a lengthy meeting with players yesterday as certain aspects of recent games were highlighted - in a way he suggested players may not have had before.
“We’ve been talking about a lot of things,” he said.
“I was a bit late [for Tuesday’s press conference] because our post-match meeting went over a little bit, just because we spot things that we need to highlight.
“Those meetings are really productive. I think that part maybe hasn't been as prevalent for the group in the past. I think they're benefiting from recognising situations.”
Bottom-placed Carlisle, after back-to-back goalless draws, face Barrow tomorrow night as they try to reduce their gap to survival.
Hughes says improving their “decision-making” will be vital in general.
Survival-chasing United have not scored in their last three games (Image: Ben Holmes)
“Everybody learns in different ways,” he added. “You can tell somebody or you can show them or you can demonstrate – as long as the group as a whole, irrespective of how they learn, all get the message, the same message, and recognise situations that happen time and time again in football matches and do the right things.
“Because the top and bottom of it is that football is about decision-making. You've got to make the right decisions more often than not.
“The level you play at is determined by how well you make decisions, really. So if we can improve our decision-making, then we'll make better choices.”
LISTEN: Hughes on Barrow clash, team news, fans and more
Hughes is also expecting to see more progress in the general fitness of certain players as he tries to get more of the squad up to speed.
“We were a little bit on the back foot just because so many players had come in and everybody was on different fitness levels,” he added.
“It's not easy. It's not like starting a new season when everybody's on a level or even keel in terms of their fitness levels.
“We've got massive discrepancies in some players' fitness in comparison to others. I know that. I have to work with that.
“Initially, that was a real problem, understanding who can do what. We're still having to take players out of the fray because we know they can't complete 90 minutes.
“We're still in that process, but it's getting better. Every few days, we see differences in what people and what players can take on board.
“We've just got to make sure the time that we have is best utilised, and that means either physically or with the messaging that we're trying to put into the players.”
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