INTERVIEW: Great team performance

"I thought it was a great team performance and everybody is smiling in the dressing room," he said. "We deserved it, and our play, in the first half especially, was great to be involved in. 

"We played a lot of one touch football and created a lot of clear cut chances. Everything seemed to click and we all worked our socks off to make sure we didn't allow them to dictate the game. We achieved that which we're obviously very happy about."

"Credit to Brentford because they came back into it in the second half and put us under some pressure," he admitted. "They've been on a good run and they're always at the right end of the table at the end of the season. 

"We did talk about them losing their manager but, at the end of the day, they're all very good players so we knew we had to be at it to get anything out of the game. It was important that we scored when we were on top and it was a tremendous strike from James Berrett. I think we deserved to go into half time in the lead." 

"They were in the ascendancy after they equalised so it was important that we didn't fold and let them score again," he continued. "I think you saw how strong our team spirit is and we created more good chances after their goal."

As to the discussions surrounding the spot kick, he said: "David [Amoo] did want the penalty. That was fair enough, because he won it, but Kav decided I should take it. Obviously I was delighted about that. There's always pressure when you're taking a penalty so it didn't make much difference that David wanted it. It's a case of getting it done whatever the situation.

"I'm not sure who would have taken it if Liam [Noble] was on the pitch as well, but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it. It just feels great to be on the score sheet again because it's been a long time coming. Scoring against Boreham Wood was great, but to get two goals and help us get through to the third round was magnificent. 

"Getting two goals has given me a great boost personally," he connfirmed. "Confidence is key and I felt my all round game was very good today, which is obviously pleasing. It was a great team performance and all of the lads played very well. 

"Courtney [Meppen-Walter] came in and made his debut and I thought he was magnificent. He's a really good lad and he's got his feet on the ground, so he's fitted right in. For a 19-year old to be that big and dominant as a centre half is something you don't see very often. He's definitely got a great future ahead of him."

"It felt good to get the fans back on my side today," he agreed. "I know I've deserved criticism this season but it was a good game to be involved in and I really enjoyed it. 

"I know I've made mistakes but that's all in the past now, I'm ready to kick on and let my football do the talking. The important thing is to be in the third round draw. I think everybody wants a big team away from home so hopefully that's what we'll get." ['Sunderland is fantastic,' he told us this morning, having seen the draw].

"Our home form has been good recently and a lot of the games over Christmas are home games," he concluded. "We want to win every game we play at Brunton Park to try and make it a fortress. We had that a couple of seasons ago and there's no reason why we can't get that again."