We spoke to Mike Williamson ahead of Saturday’s game against Crewe, first speaking about the mood in the camp on the back of the current unbeaten run.
“It's been good, we've had a really good week.
“We’ve had two really tough training days yesterday and today, where we had some really intensive department work and then built into a 11 v 11, so we’re looking forward to Saturday.
“We want to keep improving in all areas really, but we’re focusing on transition and our counter-press. Crewe are going to be very organised and disciplined, they've got a way of playing, so we obviously look at how compact we've got to be and our distances have got to be right, but we know the transition on both sides, responding to trying to get the ball back and then also keeping them away from our goal is important, so there's been a lot of emphasis on that this week.
“We know that the performances are going in the right direction. Obviously we still need to take our chances and be ruthless at that end, but we feel as though the clean sheets that we've been building and the platform that we've got is good.
“I think the concepts and what you see, but also the energy and the enthusiasm to really want to play forward, that's been key for me.”
With players back from injury, Mike agreed that he had selection headaches ahead of Saturday’s game: “It’s a really good problem to have, because we've got good quality players coming in. Georgie's had another good week training, Dylan as well.
“Jordan's been back in full training and he’s ready to be involved on Saturday. Harrison Biggins will hopefully be back in full training next week. We've got a big squad, so big decisions to make.
“Callum picked up a knock last week but he's been good as gold. He wants to train every day, he's eager, he's absolutely fine. Everyone else is fit and healthy.”
Jon Mellish will be missing on Saturday after picking up his fifth booking of the season, which continues a run of players picking up suspensions, Mike commented: “Ethan started it, then Harrison Neal, now we've got Ben back and Jon out, but like I say, that's why we need the strength and depth.
“The lads are all very wholehearted, full-blooded players that get stuck in. We want that spirit, we want that intensity with the discipline, of course, but Ben's back, so we're all good.”
Crewe are another team who are at the top of the table, and we asked Mike what kind of game he expects: “I think it's going to be a different game to last week. I think they've got a distinct style of play, with a similar shape to us and a similar structure, but they've got a lot of pace and power up top.
“They've got good technicians in the middle of the park, so they're good runners, they'll come with a lot of energy. And their back line as well, they carry the ball well, they drive to the middle really well, which releases players on the sides to really get in behind, and then the ball's in the box, so we're going to have to deal with that and make sure that we concentrate on ourselves.
“We want to keep building, and we definitely want to turn that hope of a result into expectation. We can only do that by building that consistency into our game.
“We obviously want the results to tally up with the performances, but our focus is just about the preparation and making sure that we're ready, and we've got the same energy levels and intensity as we had last weekend.”
