Manager ahead of the Shrewsbury game
Manager Greg Abbot spoke to us ahead of the visit of Shrewsbury Town on Good Friday at his weekly press conference.
“Training has been very good this week after the point we got last weekend,” he said. “Those last minute goals put a different slant on the whole week.
“If we’d been beaten there would have been a bit of doom hanging around the place but I think the way we got the point has given everyone a huge lift. We've had a really good training session today and that puts us in a really good frame of mind for tomorrow.”
“It's important to try to get something out of every game,” he continued. “We go into it full of optimism and hopefully the crowd will feel the same. I think if we play as well as we did last week we should get the points we're after.
“Shrewsbury are a side like ourselves who have been inconsistent. They are fighting for points and it will be a close thing. We played very well down at their place and we were all a bit shocked that we didn't get anything out of the game.
“We'd take a reverse of that tomorrow if we get the three points. At this stage of the season the results are the most important thing. It's always nice to put on a great performance but the result is the key issue, especially with where both teams are in the table.”
On the club’s newest recruit, he said: “Manny [Mathieu Manset] has come in and been a real breath of fresh air. We've had similar types of players like Vincent [Pericard] and Francois [Zoko], and if we can keep working on his fitness hopefully he can do the same.
“The fans have taken to him straight away because I think they needed something to cheer about. We haven't given them enough of that this season. They want a hero and someone to be a figurehead, and I think if he improves on what he's done then he can be that. He wants to play and he's full of confidence, but we'll make that decision tomorrow. If he doesn't start you would hope he'll have a similar impact as he did last week.”
“Danny [Livesey] is back to full fitness so that gives me a big decision to make,” he continued. “The rest of them are raring to go and apart from Chris [Chantler] we have a clean bill of health. Having Danny back is a big boost for us because we need as many players as we can to be fit and available.
“The Easter weekend is always a big one. The Sheffield United match is easy for us to get up for but I think the players know how important every game is for us. If we can come out of tomorrow unscathed then we can go to Brammall Lane and enjoy it.
“There are no easy games in this division and Shrewsbury will be no different. Graham [Turner] has done a good job down there this season and his main aim will be to keep them in the division after their promotion last season.”
“For us, having selection problems is much better than being desperate for bodies,” he told us. “I've had a manager on from another club asking about a couple of our players because they're short of bodies so we have to be thankful we aren't in that sort of position.
“Whoever is picked, we all want to do it for the fans. I love hearing the people in the Paddock grumbling at me because it means they're still coming and supporting the team.
“I spoke to one of the fans who had something to complain about last week and, even though he didn't get the answer he wanted, I think he respected the fact that I'd explained my decision.
“We were all disappointed with the second half performance of England this week but we have to let the manager make his decisions. That's the way football is and if it's good enough for the England manager it's good enough for me.”
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