Keith Curle ahead of the Checkatrade Trophy game against Blackburn
Manager Keith Curle spoke about the next challenge for his team, having set a new Football League club record with their eleven-game unbeaten start to the season, ahead of the Checkatrade Trophy fixture against Blackburn Rovers U21s tonight.“The record has been set by this group and their next challenge is to go after the next one,” he said. “Paul Simpson’s side had a 13-game unbeaten start in the Conference season so it would be good to try to reach that.
“Another thing I am mindful of is that we haven’t gone on a run of winning four or five games back-to-back yet. That’s one I think we can do. We have the quality we need to put winning results together and the lads will be working hard to do it.”
Speaking about Tuesday night’s game against Blackburn Rovers U21s, he said: “It’s all about momentum as far as I’m concerned. People will say it’s an opportunity for some players to get 90 minutes, but I don’t give shirts away easily.
“The last thing a player who has momentum wants is to have to give his shirt up. If he does he can find that the person who has stepped in has played well and deserves to keep it. I can’t imagine any player coming to me to tell me they need a rest tonight.
“We’ve got lads who desperately want to play. Look at Jabo Ibehre - he got another goal on Saturday and I know whenever I don’t announce him as a starter he’s giving me a growl. I like that because I know he just wants to do his bit.
“He has a real hunger to get out on the pitch and it’s that sort of attitude which will get him back into the team. I know he wants to ram the fact he’s not playing down my throat. If you put him in the frame of mind where he feels he has a point to prove he’s a difficult animal to deal with, and that’s where he is with us at the moment.”
“Whoever starts, it’s another game I want to win and it’s one the players want to win,” he said. “The competition format has changed but we want to go as far as we possibly can, hopefully all the way.
“This competition presents an opportunity for us to get to the final and that has to be our aim. As I say, we want to be successful and we will compete every time we take to the pitch. I know our fans appreciate that and we hope they will be there to support us as we look to continue our good start to the season.”
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