John O'Sullivan on the Wycombe game
We spoke to midfielder John O'Sullivan shortly after full time at Adams Park on Saturday following the 2-1 victory over Wycombe.“That probably wasn’t a good game for the fans to watch but those are the games you have to win if you want to challenge at the top," he said. “Like I said the other day, we aren’t looking below us, we’re looking up.
"I think the last two games have been a big statement in terms of where we want to be. We’ve got some good lads here and we’re doing a lot of good work behind the scenes.
“When you go 1-0 down against Wycombe after three minutes people might have thought ‘here we go again’ but we’ve dug deep, got a goal back then been the better team.
"I don't think it could have been a great game to watch but with the two results we've just had we’ve definitely put a big statement down."
“Conceding the early goal was a bit of a shock and it probably woke us up," he commented. "We responded straight away and we’ve done that a few times now. There’s no panic when we go behind, we just dig deep and go and get the goals.
“It was all about the team today. If you look at the back four, they were outstanding. I don’t know how many crosses they dealt with, but it was a lot. Mark [Gillespie] made a massive save in the first half to keep us in the game as well.
“Every single one of us did it for the fans. It was a tough one to take for everybody last week and when we sat down in training on Monday we spoke about the fact we wanted to get the fans back on side. We’ve got a massive game next week against Portsmouth and hopefully they can get behind us again."
“That Wycombe game is the type of game the fans love winning because we haven’t just shown we’ve got quality players, we’ve shown we can work hard," he continued. "Everyone was working hard for each other and it was a pleasure to be part of a winning dressing room after the game.
“As a football fan there’s nothing better than seeing players work as hard as we did. Even when myself and Nicky [Adams] came off we were on the sideline shouting at the lads and cheering them on. That’s what you need in a successful team, even from the lads who aren’t playing.
“Jabo [Ibehre] was a great example of that. He came on and he was outstanding. He gave us that bit of strength we needed up front at the end of the game. To get where we want to be we’re going to need every player to do their bit like that."
Speaking about his own form, he said: “I’m pleased with how I’m playing but, like I said, I don’t just do the quality stuff and run past people. I work hard for the team - I’ve still got a cut on my head from the Doncaster game, so I’ll do whatever I have to do to help get the team promoted. That’s what I’m here to do.
“There are no doubts in our minds about where we can get to. I think you saw that on Tuesday night against the team at the top of the league, and you saw it again today. I don’t think there are many harder teams to go 1-0 down against than Wycombe, especially so early in the game.
“Today was a massive statement to everyone in this league that we’re still challenging for the title, never mind promotion. We’re looking at Doncaster thinking we can catch them - so why not!”
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