INTERVIEW: Fans were fantastic

"I think we can all go away feeling proud of what we've done," he said. "We gave it everything. All of the lads are feeling down now but we just want to concentrate on doing well in the league. Hopefully we can string a few results together and have a good second half of the season." 

"The fans were fantastic today," he told us. "Whenever we were struggling, or if anything went against us, it was great to hear them supporting us. I think we can take a lot of positives from the game and hopefully the fans will start supporting us in huge numbers like that at home." 

"There was a lot said about me being a Newcastle fan and an ex-Sunderland player but once I got over the white line I put all of that to the back of my mind," he explained. "I thought I handled the game well. It was a great feeling when we scored and I'm really pleased for Robbo [Matt Robson].

"I thought we fully deserved to go in at half time level because we played so well. The second goal was a bit sloppy from our point of view but the bigger teams always seem to get that sort of luck. We should have had a foul leading up to the second goal but the referee didn't give us it, and these things happen sometimes." 

"I think we've shown people that we've got a very good squad here," he said. "We've got players on the bench with bags of quality and everyone is looking over their shoulder which is a real positive. 

"We enjoyed our day but the Leyton Orient game is now the most important thing for us to concentrate on. We'll be going down there on Saturday looking for a result." 

"The competition for places in the squad has meant that I've had to be patient and wait for my chance," he told us. "Hopefully I've done enough in the last few games to have an extended run in the team. 

"Obviously I want to be playing every week, but if you're not playing you need to work hard to give the manager something to think about. Thankfully I've managed to do that."