Phil Parkinson set his sights high after Altrincham made it 12 points out of 15 with a 1-0 win over Wrexham that lifted them into the National League play-off places at The Racecourse on Tuesday night.
A bullet header from Ritchie Sutton just before half-time proved decisive, as Alty built on Saturday’s 2-0 win against Maidenhead United by ending Wrexham’s five-game unbeaten run and moving above them into fourth in the table.
Yet Parkinson made it clear he expects more from his team, who were under the cosh early on but weathered the storm to emerge worthy winners.
"We set our standards high and ideally want to control games, because our view is that the best form of defence is attack," said the Alty boss. "If we can find a level of consistency playing that way and give our front lads the chance to get at teams, we will start scoring more goals. That’s the aim, to be a free-flowing, free-scoring team.
"I am delighted with our position in the table and recent results, but I do think there is a lot more to come from this team.
"I will keep demanding more from them, because I know we can do a bit more than we are doing in possession. When we get that, we will be really comfortable at this level."
Vastly-experienced centre-back Sutton formed a rock-solid partnership with Tom Hannigan at the heart of Alty’s defence to leave Parkinson beaming.
He said: "He is an exceptionally good player, and that was an inspirational header for the goal.
"You don’t play as many games in the Football League as he has if you are not consistent and professional in the way you go about your job.
"I’ve known about him a long time, and it was perfect timing when he decided to transition into non-league.
"I thought we looked really comfortable out of possession after the opening exchanges, when we rode our luck a bit.
"We showed our mettle, our steely side, but there was nothing lucky about the win – we thoroughly deserved what we got out of it. The run we have been on is down to a lot of hard work by everyone at the club and proof that you get your rewards for that."
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