Boss Boxing clever...
I'VE ALWAYS enjoyed Boxing Day fixtures; they have a special atmosphere all of their own and Friday’s game has all the ingredients to be an entertaining and keenly-contested encounter.Our visitors are flying high in the League One table, a position they have achieved by playing some attractive football. We are well aware of their strengths and we are relishing the challenge that stands before us as we look to extend our unbeaten League run.
We go into the game on the back of a 1-1 draw at Sheffield United in our last game.
It’s fair to say that on that occasion the result was better than the performance; we were wasteful in possession at times, but displayed a resilient side of our game against a good team with good players and in front of a large home crowd.
It took them to score to kick-start us, but our goal came as a result of another neat move with Tom Bradshaw adding to his goal tally.
Once again we were defensively outstanding. There’s a solidity and confidence about us now, with everyone playing their part and working extremely hard for the cause.
The most pleasing thing is that the lads want to take responsibility and are thriving on it. There’s good competition for a shirt and this is bringing the best out of us.
We’ve got some talented young players here alongside the more established mainstays of the side who are leading by example.
It’s a formula that is serving us well and seeing us steadily climb up the table. We’ve always had that belief in our ability and now we are also getting the consistency.
This is always a key time of the year with the fixtures coming thick and fast. These next two games see us come up against two of the top three, so it will give us a good gauge of where we’re at right now as we look forward to what 2015 holds in store.
DEAN SMITH