Midfielder Callum Guy covered the yards on a hot day in Essex on Saturday, with the team dominating from the centre of the park in the first half before digging in to bring the point home in the second.
Speaking to us about the game after full-time, he said: “I thought we started the game quite well and we created some good chances.
“Obviously we didn’t put them away again, which was frustrating. I don’t think we really got going as much in the second half, and we didn’t make as many chances as we did in the first half.
“They’re a good team with some experienced players, and they brought on some big players at the end. I thought we dealt with them, so we take the point and move on.
“Both halves were different, and it’s good to show that you can play in different ways. Last week we pressed Crawley really well and we dominated all over the pitch.
“This week we were the better team from kick off and even when they got their goal we didn’t drop our heads. We kept going, got the goal just before half time, which was really important, but it was a completely different game in the second half.
“They put a lot of balls in behind and in the air, and stuff like that, but the midfield three and wing backs did really well with all of that.”
Having conceded against the run of play, he commented: “We’ve got a really good spirit in the dressing room, and probably this time last year we didn’t really know if we’d have managed to get back in a game after something like that.
“The gaffer has come in and turned that around, and you could see as soon as the goal went in that we wanted to go on and get another.
“Scoring when we did changes how you feel massively. You don’t want to be going in behind so it was important to get it when we did.
“They tried to slow the game down a bit and they threw men on in the second half, but I thought we adapted to it all. You don’t like being behind, but spirits are high in there and we feel like we can beat anybody.”
Importantly, it’s a result that means the Blues are unbeaten in the first of their home and away fixtures.
“You want to start the season well, that’s important, because you want to build on it,” he agreed. “We’ve done that so far with three points last week, and we’ve come a long way down here and it’s another point on the board.
“I feel like it’s one of the fittest groups I’ve seen for a while. Pre-season was really tough, but you expect that. It was all for the right reasons, we didn’t do anything we couldn’t do, and the lads have been excellent from the first day. We’ve just got to keep going.
“You’ve got to be happy with a point, we’ve come a long way against a good experienced team who’ve caused a lot of threats. They didn’t have many clear cut chances, we had more chances than they did. We’re disappointed in that sense but to come here and get a point, you always take it.”
Sitting at the heart of the midfield, it goes without saying that his role is an important one, both in an attacking and defensive sense.
“I do try to out myself about as much as possible and I like to get on the ball when I can,” he explained. “I want to get it to the players who are going to score us goals.
“Every position’s important, but just to keep the middle of the pitch, with a player in there, so Moxy and Gibbo can go and do their thing in front of goal, that’s what I’m there to help with.
“It’s good, the players we’ve got doing it, it’s perfect, suit us down to a T, it can only help us. I’m thoroughly enjoying playing behind Moxy and Gibbo, they’ve been brilliant, and we’ve got a good bench now, with Jayden who did really well coming on for his debut.
“We’ve got Sonny, a very talented player, Dev’s got his experience. It’s good competition for places so you’ve got to be at the top of your game to keep playing.
“It’s nice to have new teammates and it means you’ve got to be on top of your own game every week. The lads who have come in have been brilliant.
“Mox has come in and he’s taken it to another level. You wouldn’t think he was playing part time last season with the way he’s been. Like I say, Jayden looked really good and lively and I’m sure there’s plenty more to see from him as well.”
On the captain’s armband, he told us: “Simmo pulled me the Friday before the season started and he said he was going to give it Morgan. I couldn’t have agreed more with him. Morgan has been brilliant.
"Last year he took over when I was injured and he was fantastic. He’s come back in pre-season and he’s an absolute animal in the way he’s been training and playing. He leads in the dressing room and he couldn’t deserve it any more.
“It doesn’t change a thing as far as I’m concerned. I’ve just got to keep doing what I do, I’m not going to change the way I am just because I’m not captain. I’ll carry on supporting everyone in any way I can.
“It feels like we have a lot more voices on the pitch this season anyway. We have more leaders and that’s so important. The manager says he wants eleven leaders out there and even with the subs coming on, you can see that the work they put in is brilliant.
“I just want to go into every game and play my best, not just for myself but the club, and try and help the club be successful. Whether I have the armband or not I’ll give it everything.
“The way we are if someone’s not doing something you’ll get told, and if someone does something well you’ll get praise. I think it’s really important to have that blend of telling people when they’ve done well, or if haven’t.”
Next on the agenda is tomorrow night’s Carabao Cup first round meeting with Shrewsbury – another away game against a League One side.
“We go into it looking to play our game,” he said. “We don’t focus too much on them, but I’m sure the gaffer will have a game plan.
“He’ll pick his team and we’ll go into it with a lot of confidence having had good results and performances in pre-season against higher league teams. We want to see how far we can get in it.
“We talked about that in pre-season. We all said that we wanted a good cup run, now’s a first test against league One opposition, and with how we’ve played we’ll go into it with plenty of confidence.
“Part of the attitude in everyone, there’s no fear in who we play against. If we play our game we know we can give many teams a good test.
“It’s really enjoyable to be around when it feels like this. You come into training buzzing, you can’t wait to be put there.
“Now the season’s back around everyone’s really excited to play games of football again, which matters. Playing for three points on a Saturday, there’ nothing that beats it.”
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