Graham Kavanagh ahead of the Shrewsbury game
Manager Graham Kavanagh spoke to us ahead of the trip to Shrewsbury at the weekend.
“There’s a lot of confidence in the group at the moment and, as we have said all week, we’re now trying to harness that so that we can use it positively when it comes to playing our games,” he said.
“It’s important that the players stay in focus and do things properly. Just because we’ve won three games on the bounce it doesn’t mean we’re going to roll up to Shrewsbury and get all three points. It’s going to be a difficult game, there’s no two ways about that.”
“They haven’t had the results they would have wanted so they’ll be looking to put that right at home,” he continued. “We’ve spoken to the lads because we would love to make it four out of four.
“Momentum is one of the biggest things in football. It’s also the easiest thing to crash, burn and break down so we have to make sure the mindset of the players is exactly the same as it has been for the last three games. We’ll be demanding 100% maximum effort, as we do every week.”
“We read the match reports and we expect them to be aggressive and to deny us space whenever they can,” he explained. “They’re a team which will look to play when they get the opportunity and they have some really good players.
“They have Adam Reach in from Middlesbrough and he’s a big, powerful winger. He will be a threat if we allow him to be. Curtis Main can play off both feet, so he’s another one, but they have a number of players who can do a real job.
“They maybe haven’t had the results go their way so far but they are definitely a good team. It’s up to us to respect that but, at the same time, do the job properly and concentrate on our own game. If we do that then it’ll be a good game.”
“We’ve added Nathan [Eccleston] to the mix because he will give us options,” he said. “He’s joined us at a good time because we’ll have Mark Beck away on international duty next week and we’re obviously waiting for Lee Miller with his injury.
“Lewis [Guy] is suffering from a bit of a throat infection as well, but we’re able to cope with all of that more by adding a player of Nathan’s quality to the group.”
“It’s been a good start for us as a management team, and long may that continue,” he told us. “The lads have bought into everything we’ve asked them to do and they’re getting results off the back of that.
“However, we keep reminding them that it’s not about what we’ve done in the last three games, it’s about what we do going forward from here. The message is a consistent one from us. We tell the lads that what they’ve given us today will not be good enough tomorrow. Things will get tougher from here on and it’s important that the players continue to focus and grow.”
“I think it’s in my nature to try to keep things pushing on as quickly as possible,” he admitted. “All through my career people have said that I have an attitude where I almost want to reinvent the wheel - and I want it done yesterday. That’s just the way I am.
“I’m very proud to be in this position and I’m not going to give it up lightly. I’m certainly not going to fail without having given it my best shot. Hopefully, with the way we do things, we won’t go too far wrong.”