Boss hoping to feel the love at London Road...
THE PLAYERS have reacted well to last weekend's disappointing display against MK Dons.We know that we are much better than the performance that we produce during the first half and we have enjoyed an extremely positive and productive week on the training ground.
This is a good game for us to go into. This is an exciting time to be involved with the club; we're looking forward to the challenges that lie ahead, starting with Friday's game.
We've discussed what went wrong in our last game and a line has been drawn under it. Now we move on. We've put ourselves into a good position for this final run of games and our mindset is that we go into every game trying to win rather than not lose. This will certainly be the case at London Road on Friday evening.
Having Andy Butler suspended is disappointing, but we have James Chambers back in action to give us a boost. He is a proper defender who brings experience and know-how.
There are a few options open to me in defence. Unfortunately Dean Holden has picked up a knee injury in training and Andy Taylor is still a few days away from being able to return, but we also have youngster, Matt Preston, who has done well for the Under-21s and reserves, and Ben George.
Both James Chambers and Ben Purkiss have played in the centre of defence previously, so there are certainly options available.
We put in an excellent performance against Peterborough in the home game and they are sure to be seeking revenge, particularly as it came in front of the live television cameras.
They will make it a tough game; we are wary of the threats that they possess. They have a few new faces in their side and it will depend on how they knit together.
It is an encounter that we are all looking forward to...
DEAN SMITH