Bobby, a draw against second place in the league. You said last week that the result would determine how far we were from the top sides. Did our performance give you confidence?
Yes. The boys showed a lot of desire, especially in the second half, where we created a lot of chances. An onslaught. I was very pleased with what was a great performance. We’re sorry we didn’t get the win, but with a bit more luck on the day, regarding the disallowed goals, it could have been three points.
There were many instances in the game where they found us very difficult to handle, and in fact like you said we were a couple of offside decisions away from taking all three points. I’m sure you would agree that this shows we’re becoming even more ready to seriously compete?
It is only one game at a time. Over the last few months we’ve been working on being hard to beat, so now we’re moving towards creating more chances and playing some more entertaining football. It’s about changing our draws into wins, so I was very pleased with the chances we created and energy we showed, even towards the end.
Our attackers are still proving dangerous, and what I especially like is that they all offer something different when going forward. What does it mean to have so many good forwards at your disposal?
It’s so important that you have different players for different roles, and our forwards bring a certain different individual quality to different games. They all compliment each other. Sometimes you need power, but sometimes you also need flair.
We’re back on the road on Saturday. One thing we’ve already spoken about is the idea that we are a stronger side away. What do the players need to do on Saturday that they’ve already been doing?
Well, we are now heading into our toughest month of the season, where we have five away games. That’s daunting in itself, but away from home we’ve been playing very well. It’s a case of knowing who you’re up against and adapting to the situation. We understand as a group that we’re in for a very tough run ahead, but we all want to keep pushing forward.
This is the second of three successive games playing teams currently in the play-offs. With fixtures as tough as this close together, does it help bring the squad even closer together?
What I’ve said many times is how together the squad are, but what’s pleasing is that I don’t even need to tell people that. It can already be seen on the pitch. I always tell them it’s about making the person next to them a better player, and the squad is working together as a unit.
At least a point on Saturday would mean we go FIVE unbeaten in all competitions. That would be the first time doing that all season. Is this the sort of winter improvement similar to what your teams have done in the past?
My teams have done that in the past, but this week the challenge is whether we can go away to one of the big boys and leave with a win. We’re building momentum, but now we could go and do something that some might think we can’t do.
There have been a lot of draws recently, but I would still rather a draw than a loss!
Finally, I noticed how fit and strong the lads looked against Exeter City behind closed doors on Tuesday. With that in mind, as always, what has been the key message for Saturday?
We’re doing everything behind-the-scenes to make sure that we’re ready for this big month ahead. We did some work against Exeter that we needed to do for Saturday, we got some lads minutes to help them keep up with their fitness.
We’re already one step ahead with preparing for Braintree Town, but we know how tough their ground is to come to. So, the message has been simply, let’s go there and have a proper good go!
Interview by
Jack Webb
