Macclesfield Town 2-0 Crawley Town: Sol Campbell gets first win as Silkmen boss
- Published
Sol Campbell took charge of Macclesfield on 27 November, signing an 18-month deal
Macclesfield boss Sol Campbell says the standard in League Two is not "Mickey Mouse" after his side beat Crawley for his first win in management.
Goals from Elliott Durrell and Harry Smith ensured Campbell was triumphant in his first home match in charge - a game that drew a crowd of 1,362 at Moss Rose.
The former England and Arsenal defender rejected the notion that life in League Two has came as a "culture shock".
"For me it's all about a learning process," said 44-year-old Campbell, who was capped 73 times for England.
"There's good players out there, and you look up and down the league and see teams playing football. We want to be one of those clubs.
"For me dropping down here, it's my first job and I want to get on with it, I want to play how I want to play. I'm not looking at the whole league and saying it's League Two, for me it's football.
"We need to win and we need to get up. It's a real thing, it's not Mickey Mouse football. It's real-time football with people, players, fans. This club needs to stay up."
Before the 2-0 win over Crawley, Campbell had overseen a penalty shootout defeat in the Checkatrade Trophy and a loss at Colchester.
Durrell's 25-yard strike and a Smith header moved Campbell's Silkmen to within four points of safety.
"The lads put in a great shift," Campbell said.
"I think for me they have started to respond to how I want to play, it was a good performance.
"Overall we really controlled the game. We need to play a little more in certain scenarios and that will come with confidence.
"This win will do the lads a world of good."
Macclesfield had to contend with strong winter winds and floodlight problems, which caused a 15 minute delay before the start of the second half, for the milestone victory under Campbell.
"For me that will give the lads great confidence that they got through that game with the wind against them and a team pushing on," Campbell said. "That will give them confidence and we can build on that."
Macclesfield have now won three of their past four matches in the fourth tier, having prevailed just once in of their previous 18, and their high-profile rookie manager is demanding more in their fight to avoid relegation.
"We have a fight on our hands and I want fighters who can play football at the same time and who understand that we want to get off the bottom and get momentum going," Campbell said.
"We have to make our home a fortress, we have to be on the front foot and impose ourselves.
"For us to stay up and move up the league we have to win our home games and nick some wins and draws on the road."