Midfielder Joe McKee on the Accrington game
Midfielder Joe McKee spoke to us on Saturday evening to give us his reaction to the away draw with Accrington Stanley and his first league appearance for the club.“It’s frustrating because we didn’t get the win, especially with them going down to ten men and us taking the lead so early in the game,” he said. “Their lad scored to equalise and they were pretty much camped in after that, other than one chance they got at the end. That’s why it’s disappointing for us not to have taken the three points.
“We put plenty of balls into the box and we tried to create chances, but it wasn’t to be. In games like that you just take the point and move on. This is a tough place to come and it isn’t the result we wanted, but it was good for me to get out on the pitch.”
On the disappointment of not taking all three points, he said: “You have to remember this is a great group and there’s quality in every area. For some reason it’s just not clicking at the moment, but everyone is working hard to change that for the better.
“It’ll come good again and it’s just a case of grinding through. Every team goes through a spell like this and it just happens to be ours now. I’m sure we’ll come out of the other end.”
And on his first league start, he told us: “Obviously it’s been a long time coming but I’ve been working as hard as I can to get into the team.
“It took me a while to get into this game but that’s because I haven’t played many games. I’ve spoken to the gaffer a lot and he knows I want minutes. I’m not here to make up the numbers on the bench and I want to play as much as I can.
“I got an opportunity in this game and Accrington were in our faces for the first 10 or 15 minutes. It did take me a while to get into it but I felt that towards the end of the first half and at the beginning of the second half I was starting to settle a bit more.
“The manager played me in the centre of the park, and that was good, because that’s my position. It was difficult because it’s a small pitch and there were a lot of bodies in there. That means you’re trying to play off second balls and looking to help Charlie [Wyke] and Shaun [Miller] as much as you can. Being involved was really good but overall it’s just disappointing that we didn’t win the game.”
It was also revealed on Saturday morning that the manager had made McKee available for loan during this transfer window, should the opportunity arise.
“We had a conversation and he said that I was available for loan if anybody came in and showed interest,” he explained. “That’s fine because I’ll be working as hard as I can, along with everybody else, and I’ll keep speaking to the gaffer to see what we can come up with.
“I’m still determined to do something here because that’s all I’ve wanted since the first day I arrived. I’ve had my first start now but I’d like to contribute more. I know I need minutes to get sharper but we’ll take it as it comes and we’ll see what happens.”
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