ROONEY: “WE FOUND A WAY TO GET OVER THE LINE.”

28 Sep 2026

Share:

Manager John Rooney praised his side’s togetherness after the Silkmen’s 1-0 victory over Harborough Town on Saturday, but insisted their performances must improve.

Danny Elliott’s free-kick in the first-half secured the three points at the Leasing.com Stadium, which moved Silkmen up to second in the Enterprise National League North.

Rooney was pleased with the win and clean sheet but acknowledged that his side had not reached the level he expected.

“The pleasing thing was to get three points with a clean sheet to go with it,” Rooney told Silkmen TV. .

“We found a way to get over the line and take the three points, but the performance was nowhere near the levels we expect, we expect a lot better performance, we need to start putting performances in, so the pleasing thing is that we got three points, it’s a results-driven business and we got the result.

“You can see that the lads have got a good togetherness about them, they dig in for each other and it’s a mentality thing.

“For me, I think that winning is a habit and you’re making a habit of winning football games, the credit I can give the lads is that they found a way once again. I don’t think that we’ve reached any sort of level where we expect or think we can get to, but we need to start turning in better performances.

“Points wise it’s been really, really good, performance wise we still know that there’s a lot more that we need, but it’s a results business and we’re managing to get results over the line.”

Next up for the Silkmen is an Emirates FA Cup Third-Round Qualifying tie at home to Scarborough Athletic on Saturday, with Rooney expecting a tough challenge against the Seadogs.

Rooney added: “The last couple of times that we have met Scarborough, they are really tough games, we’ve played them three times and they have all ended in draws, it’s another day in the FA Cup, so our main focus now is on Scarborough once more as we did a couple of weeks ago.

“We’ll be working on a game plan to get us through to the next round.”

Watch John’s interview in full on Silkmen TV by clicking here!

Featured in this article:

LatestNews

DOS SANTOS DEPARTS FOR MARINE

DOS SANTOS DEPARTS FOR MARINE

Macclesfield FC can confirm that midfielder Carlos Dos Santos has completed a permanent transfer to Marine.  After progressing through the ranks of our International Academy, Dos Santos has gone on to make 33 appearances for the Silkmen in all competitions. We wish...

read more
MATCH PREVIEW: MANSFIELD TOWN (A)

MATCH PREVIEW: MANSFIELD TOWN (A)

The Silkmen are back in Emirates FA Cup action away at Mansfield Town in the first-round proper on Saturday afternoon. John Rooney's men head into the cup tie in Nottinghamshire following a 3-0 victory at Bedford Town in the Enterprise National League North last...

read more
AWAY WE GO: MANSFIELD TOWN

AWAY WE GO: MANSFIELD TOWN

The Silkmen start November on the road with a big Emirates FA Cup clash as we make the journey to face Mansfield Town in the First Round Proper. Here is some of the key information you may need ahead of our trip to the One Call Stadium.  One Call Stadium, Quarry Lane,...

read more
LIVE SPORT IN BAR TWENTY SEVEN

LIVE SPORT IN BAR TWENTY SEVEN

It's another busy weekend of live sport across the board, and Bar Twenty Seven has got you covered.  The action starts on Friday with two big games in different competitions. Our fellow National League North side Oxford City face a mammoth task as they welcome former...

read more