Pete Wild reacts to Neo Eccleston's third red card of the season for Hartlepool United - in only 10 games
Pete Wild reacts to Neo Eccleston's third red card of the season for Hartlepool United.
Neo Eccleston has a shocking disciplinary record this season for Hartlepool United with three red cards to his name in only 10 appearances this term.
With the versatile defender/wing-back currently serving a three-game ban, Pools head coach Pete Wild has been reflecting on his record and how it is important to help the 23-year-old in a tricky period of his career. Eccleston joined Pools this summer and has impressed when he has managed to stay on the pitch.
The former Huddersfield, Barrow and Grimsby defender now has plenty of time on his hands to reflect on how to improve his record following red cards against Eastleigh at home at the end of August, Kidderminster away a couple of weeks later in September and the red against Hornchurch at home in the National League last Saturday. All three red cards coming after Eccleston received a second yellow card.
Wild, speaking at the club’s training base at Maiden Castle, told the Mail: “I've not really had much chance to have a chat with him, truth be told. He's quiet, he's reserved, he will be. There will probably be a lot of emotions going through his head. Embarrassment, annoyed, fear, frustration. I think in those situations, it's very much as a young player that we have to help him.
“It's easy to ostracise and push him aside. That isn’t going to help anybody in life, does it? You've got to try and help these young players and help them find a way. That's our challenge for us. He needs to take responsibility for his actions and I'm sure he will. We've got to try and help the kid as well.”
Wild told BBC Tees Sport: “I don't think, apart from young Neo, I don't think we've been rash. If you look at before we came in, there was very much high press and everything. We were in sort of a panic moment defending or last-ditch defending, which does then lead to yellows and red cards because of the nature of how you want to go and set up.
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“We're a little bit more reserved, I think. In the lower leagues, you can only defend two-thirds of the pitch. So you can decide which two-thirds of the pitch you're going to defend. They've tried the other two-thirds of the pitch at the start of the season. I don't think it worked. So I've gone to - with the personnel we've got in the building - to a little bit more reserved approach and I think it's worked better. I don't think we're as rash - apart from Neo - and I think that's alluded to why we've been able to keep most of the players where they need to be.”
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