Having watched every single player do their job and bring the result together on Saturday afternoon, manager John Sheridan admitted afterwards that it can be satisfying for a manager when they’re able watch a game unfold in that manner.
“It is satisfying because you do beat yourself up when results go against you,” he commented. “I feel as though we’ve lost games this season where we’ve probably played better than we did in this game.
“I know I’ve got to be patient and have a bit of belief, which I have, because I know what we can do. In almost every game this season we’ve played well and created chances, and the frustration has come for us sometimes because we haven’t put them away.
“When the other team then goes on and scores it’s a big downer for everybody. I don’t want to repeat myself too much but with the chances we create in games we should be winning more of them. This game was one where we took them, but we actually should have scored more.
“I thought we were outstanding at times. The biggest plus to go with the goals is keeping a clean sheet. We were solid when we had to be solid, and that came down to the front players and midfielders getting back and helping as well.”
With such a big win under the belt heading into the festive period, he commented: “We don’t get carried away. It’s one game, but it’s a great lift for the dressing room and the supporters.
“It’s a big win, and we should enjoy it, and it does set us off nicely going into a busy period. We know we need to go on a run because we want to catch the teams above us. If we play like this we’re going to win more games than we lose.”
“I just said it there, but the clean sheet was a big plus for me. Our goal difference is +2 now, which is the first time it’s been like that for a while. I want everyone to enjoy the result, but I also don’t want us to switch off. Crawley is coming very quickly and that won’t be easy, so we need to be ready for it.
“If we’re going to catch up we need to be going to places like Crawley and looking to get results. The thing about this division is that some of the results are so unexpected. It’s a very funny division for that.”
“As I said last week, I’m taking one game at a time now,” he concluded. “Results fluctuate across the division from week to week, so I’ll concentrate on trying to get a good result at Crawley, and then we’ll look at the next game, and the next one.
“With a lot of games coming up you’ve just got to be careful with what you do in training. We have a long way to go to Crawley, so that comes into it as well, so we need to look after everybody. I’ll listen to Paddy [Maher], the fitness coach, and I’ll take on board what he says.
“Getting the players ready properly is so important because in the space of two weeks you can find yourself in a decent position. We know that’s the case, but let’s think about this Saturday first and make sure we don’t look too far ahead. That’s when you can start to trip yourselves up.”
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