We spoke to defender Tom Parkes shortly after full time at Halifax on Saturday to talk to him about getting another 90 minutes under his belt and an important clean sheet.
“It’s good to get as many minutes as possible on the pitch,” he said. “The season is just around the corner now and I’m thoroughly enjoying it every time I play.
“Our job is to get through it and make sure we don’t concede, which will hopefully help us win games. We got the clean sheet in this one but we just couldn’t get the goal we needed. All round I think it was a good performance.
“Even though the games are only friendlies it’s great that we haven’t conceded a goal. If you don’t concede in pre-season you can carry that into the season and we want to try and keep that momentum going. We obviously wanted to win the game but it’s important to keep clean sheets and not lose."
On his own progression since joining the club, he said: “I think there’s more for me to show. I'm still settling in a little bit but I’m thoroughly enjoying my time here. I love the way the manager wants us to play and I think it suits me.
“Over the last few years I’ve been used to playing out from the back and it’s something I’ve grown into. I’ve brought it into my game and I love stepping in and trying to play. Obviously the main priority for me is to defend so when it’s the right time to step in, I will, but if it isn’t I’ll make sure I’m there to do my job."
“These games are all about preparing for the Swindon game," he continued. "We’ve got another game on Friday and that’s the big one now. It’s about trying to get that spot in the starting 11 against Swindon. Hopefully I can get more minutes under my belt against Blackburn and take that into the start of the season.
“This week has been brilliant in terms of helping me to settle in. When we were at Cassius you could see all the lads really helping each other get through it. If that’s what it’s like at Cassius I can’t imagine what it will be like on the pitch.
“Mind you, the abseiling wasn’t my kind of thing. I don’t really like heights but I knew all the boys had done it and I wasn’t going to be the one to let them down.
“Overall I’m happy that I came here. I get on well with the manager and coaching staff as well as the rest of the boys. They’ve really welcomed me and it feels like I’ve been here before. I just want to make sure I help them as much as they can help me as we go into the season.”
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