ellisinterview5mar18

We spoke to defender Mark Ellis shortly after full time on Saturday as he gave us his thoughts on the victory over Grimsby.

“Four wins in a row have given us massive confidence,” he said. “We’re working hard as a group in training and we’re playing to the conditions at the moment. We’re winning games which is crucial for us at this stage of the season.

“We said a couple of weeks ago that we needed nine points from three games, we got that, and we’ve stepped on again today and got another three points."

On the hard work which went on to clear Brunton Park of snow, he said: “It was a great achievement from everybody to get the game on today. We have to thank everybody for what they’ve done to help. They’ve come out of their way to help and we all appreciate that.

“I think it does give you that extra boost in terms of motivation. The lads were eager to play the game with the run we’ve been on, and I think Grimsby had been on a poor run as well, so we all wanted to play the game.

“We got a great start with Hallam’s goal and we had a few more chances in the first half. We could have gone into half time a couple of goals up but it was just a case of working hard and making sure we kept the ball out of our net.

“Grimsby did come at us a little bit at the start of the second half and they put us on the back foot for a while, but we managed to get the second goal which killed the game.

"I think it’s vital to get first contact, with the way all the pitches are at the moment teams are just trying to get the ball up the pitch so it’s a case of us doing exactly the same thing and getting it away from our goal and putting them on the back foot."

On his first goal at Brunton Park, and his second for the club, he told us: “I’m pleased to get the goal. It’s only taken me two-and-a-half years to score one at Brunton Park!

"I’m chuffed to have finally got one at home. We always talk about moving around and getting off your man in the box for corners so it was nice to do that. I saw a couple of gaps and I managed to get through and get my head on it.

“It did mean a lot and I think you could see that from my celebration. It’s been a while since I’ve scored and, as I’ve said, it was nice to get one at our stadium. It’s always nice to get on the scoresheet."

On having to show patience as he waited to get back into the starting line up, he told us: "We've had a few injuries so I’ve had to bide my time and wait for the opportunity to get back into the team.

"I believe in my own ability. Maybe I’m not the best on the ball when we want to play football, but I’m always going to do the other side of things. I know I’ve got to keep doing what I’m doing to keep my place in the team now.

"Not playing has been frustrating but I’ve been there before and, with my experience, I know it’s just a case of biding your time and taking the opportunity when you get it. The fans always back me every time I step on the pitch and I appreciate that.

"All I want is to be playing my part in helping the team to get into the play-offs at the very least. There’s no reason why we can’t make it five-in-a-row against Exeter next weekend.” 

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