Jason Kennedy on his goal against Colchester on Saturday
We spoke to midfielder Jason Kennedy shortly after full time on Saturday following his third goal of the season."The result was the important thing this weekend," he said. "It wasn’t our greatest performance but we’ve kept a clean sheet and got the goals to win the game.
"Colchester played some good football without really hurting us. The lads came in the changing room and said the same thing, to go and get results when you aren’t at your best is a sign of a good team and a good squad.
"There’s great character within the dressing room. We’ve got a lot of experience and a lot of the lads have played in this league. We’ve got the know-how within the dressing room to go out there and get the results."
On the timing of his goal, he said: "It was a great time to score. If it was a bit further out I probably would have missed it, but fortunately it went in for me. Luckily this season when I’m getting into the box the balls are falling to me and they're going in the net.
"Tom Miller said he got a toe on it and it just found its way to me. My eyes lit up and I should never miss from there really. Last season I was getting in the right positions but it wasn’t quite going in. Everything I seem to be getting on the end of this season is going in the net."
"The defenders were brilliant today," he insisted. "We dropped a little bit in the second half but we stood up to the challenge. I don’t think Colchester really created that many chances against us, but that’s what we expect from our lads. We know they’ll dig in deep and help us get the results.
"The defenders will be pleased with the clean sheet but it's a team effort. The lads up front worked so hard to get behind the ball and close people down. The defenders get a big well done but it’s a whole team effort when we work together as a unit like that.
"There’s a great feeling within the group, we’re all together, we all want to win and we all want to keep this run going. We’ve got to keep digging in and like today we’ll get the results."
"It’s a brilliant feeling to be third in the table," he commented. "There’s a great feeling within the dressing room. We’ve just got to keep it going, take it into the next game and keep building on this momentum we’ve got going."
And speaking about the roles he's been asked to play this season, he added: "The manager has asked me to do a job on the wings in some games. It’s a bit unnatural but I’m enjoying it. I’m doing the job for the team, working hard and getting the rewards.
"We aren’t just a good team, we’re a great squad and every player brings something different. If you look at the team on Saturday, there are lads on the bench who are disappointed, because they performed the week before, but we all stick together because we want the same things. We’re going in the right direction together.
"I think you’ve got to do everything you can to stay in the team because when you look at the lads on the bench they could easily get a game elsewhere in any other team in the league. If you don’t perform every week you could lose your shirt so it’s down to yourself to do everything you can to keep it."
On being part of the team which broke a club record for the longest unbeaten start to a Football League season, he said: "I don’t think there’s any added pressure because of that, we’re just taking each game as it comes.
"There was no mention of the record before the game. We just wanted to go out there and get the result. We’ll go into the next game and we won’t focus on it, we’ll just carry on with our normal game strategy.
"It is brilliant though. You always want to be part of history. It’s great to be amongst it and to be playing for this club.
"When I first came to the club we were fighting for our lives. To see it gradually get better and get to the stage we’re at now is brilliant. We’re looking strong, we’re looking for that next step and trying to achieve promotion.
"We go into every game trying to make sure we don’t get beat and that will be no different on Tuesday night in the Checkatrade Trophy. It’s another chance to go out there and get a result, the fans have been brilliant with us so far this season and we just want to keep the momentum going."
