Karl Robinson has told his Salford players to have a winning mentality if they want to remain at the club after they were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw with Colchester.
The Ammies looked on course for a fifth victory in nine games thanks to Matt Smith’s first-half opener – his 22nd goal of the season.
However, a battling Colchester side snatched a point thanks to young substitute Bradley Ihionven’s late strike.
Salford, whose eight-match unbeaten start under new boss Robinson came to an end at the weekend, could not source a late winner, despite their best efforts.
“We’re here to win and these players are paid to win,” Robinson said when asked about his side’s aim for the season.
“They’re professional athletes and that’s my mentality. If they don’t believe in that, then they can go.
“Tonight, it’s probably a fair result, but we were nowhere near our best. It was an under-par performance with stupid actions.
“When you look at how fragmented we were with the amount of players we’ve had out, I can’t be too disappointed.
“But I’m not in the industry to draw games so there’s so many elements of our game that could’ve been better.
“The players in the dressing room are down because they know they’ve underperformed and missed another opportunity to get three points.
“It was a real fight to put a team on that pitch; they competed, but we’ve not seen the quality or fluidity that we’ve seen from a Salford City team.”
Meanwhile, Colchester continued their mini-revival under new boss Danny Cowley.
The U’s, who sit five points above the Sky Bet League Two relegation zone, have now lost only one of eight games since their change in the dugout.
“There’s no point me worrying about other teams because I can’t control their destinies, but I can only control ours,” said Cowley.
“I’ll put all my energy and my efforts into helping the team; they needed lifting at half-time and we have to fight in those moments.
“We didn’t deserve to go in 1-0 down, but we did, and you have to then respond. And certainly in the latter part of the game, we did that.
“Credit to the players, but we just couldn’t win it. After two tough away games and on two difficult pitches, we take the points and move on.
“We’re trying to win every game because that’s our mentality. We’ve now only had one loss in eight, so we are becoming a really competitive team.
“But we’re working really hard to try and turn these draws into wins.
“It’s just about us; we’re trying to get to 50 points as that will be enough for us to retain our status.”
Rodri suggests Arsenal's mentality cost them Premier League title
Rodri has suggested Arsenal's mentality cost them the Premier League title, after Manchester City became the first team to win four straight English top-flight crowns.
City edged out Arsenal by two points on the final day of the season, their 3-1 win over West Ham ensuring the Gunners' comeback victory over Everton was immaterial.
Rodri scored the crucial third goal just before the hour mark to settle nerves at the Etihad Stadium, after Mohammed Kudus had drawn West Ham within one goal.
City finished the season with nine straight wins after playing out a 0-0 draw with Arsenal at the Etihad Stadium in late March, while the Gunners dropped three points in a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in April.
Reflecting on that goalless draw, Rodri accused Arsenal of settling for a point and hinted a lack of bravery had cost them.
Asked by Optus Sport for the secret behind City's success, Rodri pointed to his head as he said: "To be honest, I think it's in here. It's the mentality.
"Arsenal, also they deserved [to win the league], they did an unbelievable season, but I think the difference was in here.
"When they came here, they faced us at the Etihad, I saw them and said, 'Ah, these guys, they don't want to beat us, they just want a draw.'
"That mentality… I don't think we would do it the same way. We caught them.
"At the end, if you give us one point, we will win the last seven, eight games even though it's so tough. So I think it comes down to mentality."
Rodri did not taste defeat in the Premier League throughout 2023-24, with all three of City's losses coming when the Spaniard was suspended.
He has now gone unbeaten through his last 50 Premier League matches, with only former Arsenal defender Sol Campbell enjoying a longer such streak (56 games between 2002 and 2004).
City's historic triumph means they have surpassed the achievements of Huddersfield Town (1923-1926), Arsenal (1932-35), Liverpool (1981-1984) and Manchester United (1998-2001 and 2006-2009), all of whom won three straight top-flight titles.
They could also become the first team to ever win back-to-back league and FA Cup doubles on Saturday, when they face Manchester United in the final of the latter competition at Wembley Stadium.
Xavi unhappy with fans booing Laporta during Rayo Vallecano win
Xavi criticised some of the Barcelona fans for booing and negative chants towards club president Joan Laporta during their 3-0 win over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Barcelona sealed second place in LaLiga with the victory, also guaranteeing a place in the Spanish Super Cup at the start of 2025.
However, speculation about Xavi’s future continues to dominate the headlines around the club, with reports suggesting the Spaniard could be sacked despite committing a U-turn to stay at the club after announcing his departure.
During the game, Xavi received a standing ovation, while some of the fans were heard opposing Laporta.
"On the one hand, I want to thank the people for being with me on a personal level," Xavi said. "But I don't like it when they point to a person, whether it's the president or a player. We need unity. It's a nasty situation that I don't like."
A meeting between Xavi and Laporta is reportedly set for the end of the season, and the manager has dismissed claims that he has a bad relationship with the president.
"We have enough trust so far and a friendly relationship to talk about it [his future]," Xavi said.
"I understand the whole mess, but I haven't been informed [about being fired]. The confidence hasn't changed, I think. If it changes, we will inform you.
"I continue with the maximum ambition, absolutely nothing has changed about mine. I want to start next season with the utmost enthusiasm.
"The president has always been honest, and I'm sure he will continue to be so when we see each other."
Howe taking plenty of positives despite frustrating Newcastle campaign
Eddie Howe was keen to look at the positives after Newcastle United secured seventh place in the Premier League on Sunday.
Alexander Isak and Bruno Guimaraes were among the goalscorers as Newcastle won 4-2 at Brentford to finish their Premier League campaign.
The victory ensured a seventh-place finish, and a Manchester City victory over Manchester United in next Saturday's FA Cup final will confirm Newcastle's place in next season's Europa Conference League.
While this season did not quite live up to the heroics of last term, which saw the Magpies finish in the Champions League spots, Howe still feels it has been a successful campaign.
"It summed up our season," Howe told BBC Sport. "We weren't totally secure at the back, but great credit to the players. They've done their job - now we wait and see.
"We anticipated after losing against Manchester United that our control of the [European] situation had gone. It's never a nice situation, but whatever happens, happens.
"We have issues to solve defensively. If we can do that, next season could be another season of really strong performances. This was a season that could have been better, but a good season overall.
"We're a really united club. I think we're still moving forward, so there's a lot to be positive about."
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