United boss Steven Pressley spoke to us about what is another important game as league high-flyers Lincoln City come to town on Friday.
“We’re looking forward to what is a big game,” he said. “Football is a game where fortunes change very quickly, and we have an opportunity on Friday to change ours.
“We had a really good result here against a very good Bury side in our last home game, then the disappointment of last week, but it can all change very quickly. We can only show people that we still have the belief in what we’re trying to achieve by doing things right on Friday.
“We’ll continue to train and work towards a game plan, but we must produce a good performance to bring everyone along with us.”
“If we don’t get into the top seven it will obviously be disappointing,” he commented. “It was something we set out to do but, if we don’t do it, we only have ourselves to blame.
“We would all be extremely disappointed, because it’s something we believe we could achieve. To do that I think we have to win all four our games. The 12 points would probably see us in there, but it wouldn’t guarantee it for us.
“That’s a disappointing factor, but we have to what we can do, and that starts with Lincoln at the weekend.”
With the Imps having already secured the title, there’s a determination not to allow them to bring the party to Brunton Park as they now look to secure top spot.
“They can obviously come here and win the title, but we have to ensure that doesn’t happen,” he told us. “It isn’t an enjoyable experience to watch another team celebrate on your pitch, and it’s not something I want our team or supporters to see.
“It should be a motivation that we need the points for our own reasons, but also that we don’t want any team to come and celebrate on our field. They’re on a fantastic run, but we have to be the team that ends it.
“To do that we’ll need to play with intensity and we’ll need to be aggressive. If we don’t play like that, we’ll never win the game.”
And on what we can expect from the visitors, he said: “Looking at the type of club Lincoln are, and what they’ve developed over four or five years, I don’t think they’re a team who rests on their laurels.
“They’re a team with a real desire to get results and get victories, so I don’t envisage them taking their foot off the gas this weekend. It will take a really big performance from us, but we’re capable of that, as we’ve shown in the past.
“They’ve shown real consistency, and that has to be something we address, not just in the short-term but also the long-term. We have to have more consistency with performances, as well as results, and it’s something we’ll certainly be striving to do.
“With four games left, we have to show some form of consistency if we have any opportunity of getting into those play-off places.”
“In terms of the game, they’re a very big, physical team who have a real understanding of what they’re about,” he explained. “They’re a team that’s been together for a while and they have good continuity. They’ve built a very good culture and there are many good things now in place.
“The one thing I will say about them is that they’re very dangerous on set pieces. They’re very robust and well organised and they’ve acquitted themselves well in this league.
“We’ll continue to work to eradicate the errors we make when we defend set pieces, because that will be a threat. The players are aware that they have to take responsibility for the man they are marking inside the box. Your player cannot score a goal, that’s the mentality you must have.
“They have a management team who are obviously very passionate, just like myself, and I’m certain that all they want is for their side to win. I never find that difficult to handle in any way because it’s all part of what football is about. As managers we’re under big pressure to get results, so it’s normal to show your emotions.”
His final message was for the fans.
“I ask them to absolutely get behind the team,” he said. “With that, this team has a responsibility to ensure we get them off their seats and get them fully behind us.
“I intend to make sure we’re in that frame of mind on Friday.”
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