Mark Ellis on the Crawley and Oxford games
We caught up with defender Mark Ellis ahead of training on Tuesday morning to get his thoughts on the victory over Crawley."The win was massive," he said. "We aren't in with a shout of the play-offs but it's still vital we finish the season well, hopefully unbeaten, so we can take that into the start of next season.
"The clean sheet was also important. They will be massive going forward into next season because the more clean sheets you get the more success you have as a group."
Speaking about his early chance, which ended up on the roof of the net, he said: "I saw Danny [Grainger] put the ball in and I watched it all the way. I think I just took my eye off it at the last second and it hit my toe and somehow went over the bar. I saw the flag go up but I don't know if it was for offside or a goal kick!
"When you're a yard out you've got to put the chance away. Danny said to me at half time that he thought it was going straight in, but I wasn't 100% sure. I just tried to get something on it and make sure it went in, but obviously that didn't happen.
"I like to think goals are part of my game. As a defender you always go up for set pieces and try and get on the score sheet. I've got one this season but I think I should have had a lot more."
"When you're a yard out you've got to put the chance away. Danny said to me at half time that he thought it was going straight in, but I wasn't 100% sure. I just tried to get something on it and make sure it went in, but obviously that didn't happen.
"I like to think goals are part of my game. As a defender you always go up for set pieces and try and get on the score sheet. I've got one this season but I think I should have had a lot more."
On his first half season with the club, he said: "I'm the sort of person who just settles in and gets on with things. It's good to know where I'm going to be for the next couple of years.
"I've got a young family as well so it's important to have that stability. I'm just looking forward to the next two years."
"I'm enjoying my football but it was frustrating that we didn't get into the top seven," he admitted. "Part of the reason I signed in January was because I thought we could get into the play-offs. We've had some disappointing results but we'll all learn from it and build for next season.
"We want to have a successful season next year so it's vital we stay fit through the summer. I'm sure we'll get some programmes from Lee Fearn and all the lads will make sure they keep to them."
"We'll be looking to cause an upset on Saturday," he said. "Oxford will bring a lot of fans but we'll be trying our best to get a couple of wins to round the season off.
"They're chasing the top three so I wouldn't mind helping Plymouth out by beating them! Plymouth is where I'm from and they're still in the mix, so I'm hoping they can pick up some points and get into the automatic spots."
"Saturday is a good chance for us to say thank you to our home fans," he concluded. "They've been fantastic ever since I arrived for my loan move. Hopefully they'll stick with us for next season and we can keep building and moving forward."
"I'm enjoying my football but it was frustrating that we didn't get into the top seven," he admitted. "Part of the reason I signed in January was because I thought we could get into the play-offs. We've had some disappointing results but we'll all learn from it and build for next season.
"We want to have a successful season next year so it's vital we stay fit through the summer. I'm sure we'll get some programmes from Lee Fearn and all the lads will make sure they keep to them."
"We'll be looking to cause an upset on Saturday," he said. "Oxford will bring a lot of fans but we'll be trying our best to get a couple of wins to round the season off.
"They're chasing the top three so I wouldn't mind helping Plymouth out by beating them! Plymouth is where I'm from and they're still in the mix, so I'm hoping they can pick up some points and get into the automatic spots."
"Saturday is a good chance for us to say thank you to our home fans," he concluded. "They've been fantastic ever since I arrived for my loan move. Hopefully they'll stick with us for next season and we can keep building and moving forward."
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