Macaulay Gillesphey on the Wycombe and Portsmouth games
We spoke to defender Macaulay Gillesphey ahead of training on Thursday morning to get his thoughts on the Wycombe victory and on this weekend's home game against Portsmouth."The Wycombe game was a physical game where it was back and forward," he said. "There were a lot of long balls but I think the lads did well, especially Raynesy [Michael Raynes] and Shaun [Brisley] with them having to deal with Akinfenwa. It was a scrappy game but a good victory for us.
"It’s definitely different to U23 football but it does feel good if you get a win after a game like that, because you feel like you’ve worked really hard for it. I think we deserved it."
"It’s always good to be able to celebrate in front of the fans after a victory like that," he agreed. "We’ve always got good travelling support, wherever we play, so it’s a good feeling.
"The two victories last week after the Blackpool game were massive for all of us. We’ve had a tough month and we’ve got a tough run-in, but after the Blackpool game everyone wanted to put it right and we were all up for it.
"I think Lids [Gary Liddle] has done well at right back and Shaun Brisley has come back in and done very well. Raynesy is always solid, so I think we’re a good unit at the moment."
The first team manager revealed at last week's press conference that extensive match reviews had been used to help the squad identify areas for improvement, and that the Newcastle-loanee had taken a lot out of those sessions.
"We used to do a lot of video analysis at Newcastle so it’s something I’m used to," he said. "It’s always good to get information and feedback from the coaches. If you do something well, or if you do something bad, it’s always good to learn."
"I’m pleased with how I’ve played in the last couple of games," he told us. "I think I’m getting used to being at left back again.
"The gaffer has been on my case to try and get me to be more aggressive and I think I’m adapting well to it, but I’m always learning.
"I don’t really think about it too much when I’m on the pitch but I can hear the gaffer telling me to be more aggressive with my tackling and things like that. That definitely helps."
Looking ahead to tomorrow's game against Portsmouth, he said: "We’re all confident and we believe we can win. It will be a good atmosphere on Saturday and hopefully we can get a good result for our fans.
"I think Portsmouth will try and play football as well, so it will be a different test compared to the Wycombe game. It’s one we’re all looking forward to.”
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