Hartlepool United defender Billy Sass-Davies loving life under head coach Anthony Limbrick
Hartlepool United defender Billy Sass-Davies admits he's really enjoying working under head coach Anthony Limbrick.
The 25-year-old was an unused substitute for all of the first six matches of Limbrick's tenure but has started the previous five games as part of a new look back three, producing a number of assured performances.
Sass-Davies seems to have had to work hard to convince Limbrick of his value to the side. The towering defender had been on the Australian's radar for some time; when Limbrick was in charge of The New Saints, Sass-Davies was in and around the Wales youth setup and was capped eight times at under-21 level.
For whatever reason, Limbrick was reluctant to put too much faith in Sass-Davies when he first replaced Lennie Lawrence. One prominent school of thought is that Sass-Davies made a glaring error in November's defeat to York, the first game after Limbrick was appointed to the coaching staff. While he has made a handful of mistakes and was at fault for Eastleigh's equalising goal earlier this month, Sass-Davies has generally been a reliable presence when called upon.
By his own admission, Sass-Davies has endured a "frustrating" first season at the Prestige Group Stadium. Having reunited with then-manager Darren Sarll in the summer following a successful trial, the former Crewe, Yeovil and Boreham Wood man has found himself behind Luke Waterfall and Tom Parkes in the pecking order. While Waterfall has been sidelined at times this term with injuries and suspensions, Sass-Davies has tended to be deployed in a supporting role and his opportunities had been limited since losing his place in November prior to his return to the team last month. His form since then means it's hard to see Waterfall, who has recently returned from a back injury, displacing him in the side.
Sass-Davies looks to have benefitted from Limbrick's switch to three at the back. Although the Australian preferred Dan Dodds and Jack Hunter to him when he first made the change to 3-5-2, he belatedly included Sass-Davies on the right of the defensive trio when he reverted back to the formation ahead of the trip to Eastleigh at the beginning of March. While not the quickest, he is more athletic than either Parkes or Waterfall and looks to be growing in confidence with the ball at his feet, making him a good fit for the role. Sass-Davies admits he's enjoying life under Limbrick following a run of four games without defeat, including successive wins over Boston and Halifax.
"I've really enjoyed working under him," he said.
"I think he's been fantastic since he's come in, really good.
"Obviously we were a bit more direct earlier on in the season, so we're slowly building towards becoming a more possession-based team. You can't just go from one extreme to another overnight, so we understand the need for patience and to develop one step at a time. I think the more we work on it in training, the more comfortable we will look on the weekends and the better we will become."