Boss on our Boxing Day trip to Bristol City...
IT'S NICE to go into the Christmas fixtures on the back of successive wins having beaten Shrewsbury Town and Carlisle United in our last two matches.To be fair, I am surprised to see Bristol City struggling this season. They've got a lot of good players there and with a new manager at the helm, they will be fired up and keen to impress.
As such we know that we will have to be at our best to get any reward.
That said, we have prepared well and will make sure that we keep doing the right things. We will go there and respect them but not fear them.
Like Gillingham and Sheffield United who we face in our next two games, they are fighting for points to move them away from the lower reaches of the table.
The players have been given Christmas Day off as we feel it is important for them to spend time with their families. I know that the lads I've got here are professional enough to do the right things and look after themselves in the correct way.
With four games in 12 days it is all about recovery and in Jon Whitney we are lucky to have someone who is an expert in this area.
I've had a decent record as manager on Boxing Day with our dramatic home win against Sheffield Wednesday a couple of years ago followed by last year's success at MK Dons. Hopefully this can continue!
DEAN SMITH