smillerinterview18sep17

We spoke to striker Shaun Miller shortly after full time on Saturday to get his thoughts on his goal against Barnet.

“I was delighted to see it go in,” he said. “My touch meant that it popped up nicely so I just thought ‘why not?’. Time was getting on and we all needed that. We needed something and I was delighted to see it go over the keeper’s head.

“It gave everybody a bit of a boost and it’s a game we should have won. We completely dominated the second half, especially the last half an hour, it was just wave after wave of attack. When you get closer to full time you do start to think about whether it was going to be another one of those games."

“Thankfully the shot went in and it’s got us a point," he continued. "Hopefully we can build on that in the next couple of games now. It was massive for us to get a point today after the two disappointing defeats we had last week.

"A 0-3 then a 0-2 obviously isn’t great. We know that and we know everyone knows that. It was important to stop those defeats but it’s a game we should have won. We’ll take a point and work on it then hopefully turn that into three points next week.

“When the fans are frustrated like they were in the first half we’re obviously aware of it on the pitch, but as professionals we have to just keep doing our jobs. I thought we played some nice football at times, especially in the second half, we were getting crosses in and it felt like it was just a matter of time before we got the goal.

"We were penned in their half for most of the second half and we were just looking for something to drop. Thankfully one went in and we nearly snatched it at the end. The keeper pulled off a great save and we had a couple cleared off the line and things like that."

“We saw the reaction from the fans at the end and they all want us to do well, as do all of the players," he explained. "We all want the same thing, hopefully the point will give everyone inside and outside of the dressing room a boost as we go into the Crewe game. We need the fans on our side and they need us to perform so hopefully we can do both in the next few games."

“It feels like we’ve been getting punished for every mistake we’ve made in the last few games," he admitted. "It was important to get a reaction today and stop the rot - if you can call it that after two games. It was disappointing to go a couple of games without scoring so it was good to get on the scoresheet today.

"Hopefully it’s a boost for everyone, it certainly is for the players, because it would have been devastating to have come off the pitch aving lost that game. A late goal always gives you a lift and all we can do is try and build on that."

“Today was the first time I’d started consecutive games this season so it was obviously nice to score," he said. "Hopefully I can go on a bit of a run and bang a few more in."

On picking up the Sky Bet League Two Goal of the Weekend, he said: “If I’m being honest I’m already looking forward to watching it back. I’ve scored a couple of good ones but I think that’s right up there.

“I got a good volley for Morecambe which will always stick in the memory but today’s will definitely go into the top few.

“It didn’t matter who scored or how it went in today, we just needed it to go in. With it coming so late it was a relief to everyone and we’ve just got to try and build on that now.

“The celebration was a bit of relief and frustration. We wanted the fans to get right behind us for the last ten minutes or so as well, which they did.”

“We’ll be looking to use this result as a springboard," he told us. "I thought we got a lot better as the game went on. There were a few misplaced passes then the mistake for the goal, and we were punished straight away, but I thought we improved as the game went on.

"There was only one team who was going to score the second goal in the match then go on to win it. We just need to take that from kick off in the next game."

And on a trip back to his old stomping ground this weekend, he said: "I’ve got quite a few ex-clubs so it seems that most weeks I’m playing against a team I’ve played for before!

"I’d love to do what I did last year at Crewe. I scored so it would be good to repeat that. We’ll go there on the back of this confidence boost and we’ll be going to Crewe to get three points.

“It will be nice to see Raynesy [Michael Raynes] next week but it would be even nicer to see him chasing me as I’m through on goal!"

And on making sure the team builds on the point picked up on Saturday, he said: “The goal from the start of the season was to be at the right end of the table. Obviously, it hasn’t gone that way yet, but a few results can soon change the mood at any football club.

"A few quickfire wins, which we’re all aiming for, would lift us right up the table. The manager has told us this week that he’s been protecting us because he wants us to focus purely on the football.

"That’s all we can affect so if we do our jobs then the support and the feeling around the club will all improve. That’s what everybody wants, the fans and the players, so we’re certainly going to strive to keep doing that over the next few weeks."

Click HERE to watch an interview with Shaun Miller on iFollow United now.   

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