Swindon match reaction from the manager
United manager Greg Abbott spoke to us about the 2-2 draw with Swindon shortly after full time on Saturday.
He said: “We’ve had to battle and scrap today and the reception from the fans at the end shows that they appreciate the effort and determination they’ve seen.
“Swindon have assembled a good squad but what we have to do is get a group together which will compete. We make ourselves very difficult to beat and we can’t ask for any more than that.
“We would love to have the resources to go out and do what some of these others team do but we are just as happy working with what we’ve got. We get honesty and determination and we battle and scrap for everything we get.
“I think we know we need more in terms of depth and strength and that’s something we will continue to work on. We’re doing well with this group but if we add a little bit more we can really start to push on, and that’s what we all want at the end of the day.
“Swindon are a good side and they caused us a few problems. We made the change at centre back because we felt we were getting bullied a little bit. We felt the goals we conceded were sloppy and we have to defend better than that. Danny Livesey is about winning headers and putting himself in there and I thought we did that well as a team later in the game.
“We’re pleased for Jake [Jervis] because we spoke to him about what we wanted from him. We think he’s still got more to come but he’s learning the game and the goals always help. Again, we can probably ask for more after the break but his contribution up to half time was excellent. He’s one we’ll have to look at after the game on Tuesday and we’ll see where we go with it from there.
“The booking for James [Berrett] isn’t ideal but he seems to attract these bookings for having done very little. It’s frustrating but it means someone else can come in and do a job for us. That’s where we are as a squad and it’s about us all pulling together when we’re needed.
“We do have players fighting for places all over the pitch and Mark Gillespie has got the shirt on merit at the moment. He’s come in and done his job, and I thought he made some excellent saves. All he can do is make it very difficult for Adam [Collin] to play and it’s good for us to know that we have two very good keepers who can come in and do a job for us.
“It’s another quick turnaround as we get ready for Crewe so Monday will be about keeping ourselves ready and prepared for what will be another good test. The games are coming thick and fast but I think we’re all enjoying that.”
United Player subscribers can see a vide interview with Greg Abbott later today. For more information on United Player, and to subscribe, click HERE.