Morrell hails the appliance of science (From The Bolton News)

Morrell hails the appliance of science

6:40pm Thursday 19th November 2009 in

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SHAKERS striker Andy Morrell has revealed how a touch of science is helping to take the team to the next level.

Bury have looked even fitter this season, scoring eight goals in the last 15 minutes of games during the current campaign, and they deserved plenty of credit for how well they finished Saturday’s game with Notts County on the heaviest of pitches.

Morrell, at 35, is happy to embrace anything that makes him fitter and he believes the forward thinking of manager Alan Knill is having a positive impact on the field.

“We have brought in a guy who has looked at the way we do stuff,” said Morrell, who scored his first goal of the season against Notts County on Saturday.

“We wear heart rate monitors in training and it makes sure we are working in the right zones. We also do urine samples to make sure we are hydrated. We do a lot of stuff off the pitch now to make ourselves better ready to perform.

“Last year we did very well and the club has moved on again. Stuff like this can help us progress to the next level and, if it’s not too expensive, it should be something we do. It gets you into the mentality where you think about what you do off the pitch to make sure you are right and focused during the game.

“I think it’s especially good for the young lads to know what they should be eating and drinking — and it can only benefit the whole team.”

Morrell, pitched straight into the fray after five weeks on the sidelines, struck up a fantastic partnership with loan striker Daniel Nardiello on Saturday and the pair tore big-spending Notts County to shreds as Bury roared into a 2-0 lead.

Both strikers were on the mark and Morrell said: “I had a pre-season with Daniel at Blackpool, and I know what he is all about.

“He is a good footballer, and you can play with good footballers. You know what they are going to do and it worked well. He has got great quality and he put the ball on a plate for me for my goal.

“I was surprised to play 90 minutes but it’s good to get it under your belt. I was feeling it in the last 20 minutes, but it was pleasing to score because it’s been a long and hard few weeks.”

Saturday’s 3-3 thriller may have been exciting for the fans, but Morrell realises Bury need to tighten up at the back as they bid to stretch their nine-match unbeaten run in League Two.

“If we can stop the other team scoring, we have got the players to find the net at the other end and win games for us,” he said.

“We have been a little bit porous in recent weeks and I don’t know why that is. Obviously we have not been able to train as much as we would like to and work on shape because of the numbers we’ve got.

“But we will be looking to correct that. That is at the forefront of the gaffer’s mind — and ours. The defence are the same lads that kept clean sheets last season and that is what you build good teams on because if you don’t concede many you can always nick one.

“We have got good enough players to create and score so if we can stop them we have as good a chance as anyone in this division.

“The quality of our team is high — you don’t need a lot of numbers in the squad to have a good team.

“From sitting on the sidelines for the early part of the season, I have seen some great football played by us.”