Paul Thirlwell on the festive games
Team captain Paul Thirlwell gave us his thoughts on the Scunthorpe call-off and on the important run of festive fixtures to come.
“It’s disappointing when you get as far as we did on Saturday only to have a game called off, but it’s just one of those things,” he told us.
“We’d got as far as queuing up for our pre-match meal when we found out it was off, so it wasn’t ideal. You get into a frame of mind where you’re preparing yourself mentally for kick off and it’s always met with disappointment when you first find out.
“I don’t think you can blame anyone because the rain was unbelievable through Friday and Saturday. From what we heard the pitch was playable first thing and it was just a case of hoping it would ease off a bit so that we could get the game on.
“There aren’t too many grounds which would have stood much of a chance with the amount of water that was dumped on it, over a very short period of time, and it was the right decision to make in the end.
“You’re always disappointed for the fans because, again, some of them were already at the ground when they found out. That’s the worst way for it to happen so hopefully we’ll give them something to smile about over the next few days.”
“All you can do as a player is put it behind you and look forward to the next game,” he said. “Fortunately that comes really quickly for us so it will be good to get out there.
“We are all very optimistic because we showed last weekend at Shrewsbury that we’re still a good side. That was a game we deserved to win and we’re looking for the same level of performance in every game we play from now on.”
“Christmas is a vital time, with a lot of games over a short period, and we are all determined to put things right,” he explained. “We need to get ourselves out of this and the fixtures we have lends itself to that happening.
“We’re looking forward to seeing what we hope will be a good crowd on Wednesday because that’s an important game for both sides. When our fans are behind us it makes Brunton Park a very difficult place to play for the away team and we want to make the second half of the season a good one for everyone.
“It’s up to us to do that by getting the results, and hopefully that will start for us with these two home games we have over the next few days. That’ll be the best way for us to show our appreciation to the fans for the job they do ... and for us to wish them a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”
