We spoke to Mark Hughes ahead of Saturday’s game against Cheltenham.
The Blues go into the game knowing they need to better Tranmere’s result to give themselves hope going into the final game of the season, we asked Mark if that clarity helps United going into the game: “I think so. There's no real grey areas in terms of what we have to try and achieve.
“We've got to get the job done. We're looking forward to it. I talked about the freshness after the game on Easter Monday, that edge to our game just understandably was just a little bit lacking, but we're not going to have that problem at the weekend. We'll be sharp, we'll be ready to go. We won't have that quick turnaround between games that at times just took that sharpness that we like to see in our play.
“We're looking forward to the game. We're still there. We've still got opportunities. We can only affect what we can affect. That's what we'll strive to do. It's important that we go there with the right mentality, which we have done.
“Recent weeks have been really good in that regard. So let's see where it takes us.”
Reflecting more on the Accrington game, he said: “The game itself didn't go exactly to plan. Ideally, we would have wanted the three points to affect Stanley. But in the end, we were grateful for the point.
“That might be the one point we need. So, you can't just say that it was a poor result. It was what we got out of the game. So, we have to move on to the next one very, very quickly.”
Ahead of Saturday’s game, we asked the gaffer what he expected from Cheltenham who are a mid-table side without the pressure of promotion or relegation: “You can look at it both ways. Their season, in terms of what they can achieve during the season, is over. But I think I'm right to say it's probably their last home game before the season ends. So, they’ll want to put a little bit of a show on.
“We'll just have to wait and see. Sometimes when the edge is taken from your game, that can show. But sometimes when there's no pressure, then that can free you up as well.
“You're never quite sure until you actually start the game and the whistle blows where teams or even yourself are, in terms of where the game is going to be won or lost, in terms of the approach and how your circumstances affect that. So, until we get to the game and the ref blows the whistle, we won't know that.”
Mark then gave us an injury update, firstly starting with Sam Lavelle: “He was out training today. He was sore at the weekend, and we have Ben Barclay and Charlie McArthur who can play in a couple of positions.
“So I just wanted that flexibility. I wasn't quite sure that Sam was right to go and he was sore. We'll see how it goes this week.
“Paul Dummett is as close as he's ever been. I'm really pleased that he's out there and he's taking part in full sessions now.
“His experience is something that, ideally, we would have been able to tap into sooner rather than just seeing him on the training ground. So, there could be a possibility that he's involved but we'll have to wait and see.
“The rest of them needed a couple of days off just to get that energy back and they all trained today.
“They were excellent today. I can see that sharpness and that freshness in their work, which just tempered a little bit in the game against Accrington. So I have no fears going into the weekend.”
Finally, with over 800 tickets already sold for Saturday’s game, we asked for a final message to the fans: “We had great, great support the other day.
“The support against Port Vale was immense. So we just need more of the same. Everybody knows what we have to do.
“We've got to put as much pressure on the teams around us as we can. The reality is that we need to win both games.”
