United kick off 2022 in Scunthorpe on Saturday afternoon, with their first fixture in three weeks following what has been a covid-affected period.
“It’s another really important game and we have to make sure we’re switched on and focused,” manager Keith Millen told us. “Scunthorpe played on Boxing Day, they had a good result, and they’ll be feeling confident.
“They’re on a run of five games unbeaten and Keith Hill has changed things for the better since he went in there.
“He knows how he wants them to play and a lot of their games have been very close. They’ve had the four draws, so it’s been small margins between drawing and winning, and that sums up this league, to be honest.
“You either win because you’ve taken the chances or there’s a mistake that costs you points. He’s turned them round, they’re on a decent run, and they’ve shown they can compete.
“We’ll have to match them and we can do that by replicating our attitude and approach from our last away game.”
“I know Keith from doing various coaching courses with him,” he continued. “I’ve followed his career and he’s gone into Scunthorpe and made an impact, because of the way he is and his personality.
“It normally rubs off on people he works with. He’s given them an identity which has made them hard to beat, similar to ourselves.
“I’m expecting him to have them fired up for the game, and we’ll make sure we’re ready for it as well. I think it will be a very competitive game and we’re looking forward to it.
“Keith is a good manager, he’s got an understanding and good knowledge of the game, but you’ve got to have more than that in this job.
“We’re all different and have different personalities, there are different ways of getting the group together and playing well.
“He’s got his own way and it’s been effective in his career. He’s got them going in the right direction and we’ve got to make sure we’re ready to match them.”
And on a return to action for the fans, he said: “Luckily for them at the moment they can still enjoy their new year, unless Boris changes his mind!
“Tonight is a chance to see out a year that hasn’t been great and look forward to a better 2022 for everyone.
“We’ll be in the hotel in Scunthorpe preparing for the game, and it will be nice for us to start the new year off with a victory for the fans.”
