Learn to take a punch on the nose! New Boston United boss Adam Murray wants his Pilgrims to toughen up

The former Mansfield Town boss was unveiled as Dennis Greene’s successor on Friday.

And after taking training on Saturday, Murray admitted he was impressed by the talent available in his squad.

But he did admit he believes the side needed a few more experienced heads to try to give the younger players a confidence boost for when the going gets tough.

“We need organisers, leaders and a few men, because there’s some good young talent, it just needs that bit of guidance,” Murray told The Standard. “When you do take a punch on the nose you need to look around and go ‘it’s alright, we’ve got that leader there.

“You need players to help out, not just managers shouting instructions.

“As a captain most of my career I know you’ve got to play the game yourself and not always be told what to do.”

And if any players aren’t willing to pull their weight, Murray - who turned out for the likes of Notts County, Carlisle United and Macclesfield as a player - says he won’t be afraid to show them the door.

“We can talk about potential until the cows come home, but someone’s got to do something. The run’s not been good enough,” Murray said.

“At this level you can swap and change quite easily.

“There’ll be extra training sessions implemented, I understand some people can’t do that as they’re signed up to a part-time club.

“But in the long run people will sign to the club to buy into that. You’ll only ever get better if you work harder, and you can only work harder if you’re at work.

“You can have all the ability in the world, but if you train twice a week and turn up on Saturday expecting to be a team it’s a mountain to climb.

“The chairman’s ambitious, he wants to move forward. It’s up to people to get on board or we’ll bring in people who can do that.”

Murray arrives at the Jakemans Stadium with an all-in-it-together philosophy, asking for the United fans to back their team and, in return, the players to give supporters reasons to make some noise.

He added: “This is a big football club out there on its own, that’s why the support’s so good.

“It needs a bit of life and passion injecting back into it.

“People need to come to the stadium knowing they see 11, 12, 13, 14 people, the staff and everybody, giving everything for the cause.”