After United got back to winning ways with a 3-1 win against Hartlepool, we spoke to Head Coach Mark Hughes.
Speaking to CUTV, he said: “I thought we played well, fully deserved to win the game.
“(We) Had any number of chances to take the game away from them; they obviously made a little bit of a meal of it, given that we conceded immediately after halftime break, which was clearly avoidable.
“But leading into the break I thought we were excellent, had any number of chances, we were very much in the ascendancy, we were one goal to the good and fully expected to add to that, made a couple of consecutive errors and allowed them back into a game that should have been away from them, but shown good character, the group, sorting themselves out and we went again and that shows great character from the guys.
“I think maybe in the past that would have damaged us a little bit more than we allowed it to tonight, so I'm really pleased with the response that we had and in the end we won comfortably, but it could have been by more.”
On the Pools’ goal just after the break, he said: “It was avoidable, I think we were kicking ourselves really because we'd got in a really good position, we were playing well, confidence was high, and then we just made a hash of the situation, it was more of our doing rather than the opposition.
“At that point, you hope that you get the right reaction, and thankfully, that's what I got, and I'm really pleased with the response. I thought we were excellent after conceding that goal and really took the game back to them.”
Cameron Harper opened the scoring in the first half with his first goal for the club on his 50thappearance.
“There's a good link-up between Cammy (Harper) and Regan (Linney) at the moment and a good understanding, they're just getting into good areas and getting good combinations as well, and this time Cammy's benefited from it, but we've seen obviously Regan's benefiting from Cammy's influence.
“It was a great goal, good finish and on that stage, they look quite comfortable for us, but you obviously know it only takes seconds to score a goal, so you've got to be vigilant and you've got to make sure you don't make mistakes.”
On the goals, he continued: “I thought all the goals were excellent, like I say it was just a matter of time that we felt because we kept on creating good moments and it was just that element of craft that we needed at the top end just to get the ball in with the perfect weight and the perfect appreciation for people to get on the end of it and that's what happened with Georgie's (Kelly) goal and he deserved it.
“I thought Georgie was excellent tonight. I thought his ability to lead the line and link, and bring people into the game, really helped us to have a platform for the performance.”
United lost defenders Bevis Mugabi and Terell Thomas to injury during the course of the game: “Losing two set-and-a-halves isn't ideal. We reorganise; ideally, you don't want that to happen, but in consecutive positions, the same player has not been able to complete the game.
“We've got good players that can adapt and got that flexibility, and if you ask them to do a job, for the most part they'll be able to do it so, Jack (Ellis) just slotted in there and brought on Josh Grant who I thought was excellent when he came on, really gave us a presence in there and yeah we were okay.”
On the injuries to Mugabi and Thomas, he continued: “There was tightness in the hamstring, so hopefully it's nothing too significant, but obviously if they're struggling and something's being pulled, then they're going to be out for a little bit of time, but hopefully maybe it's just cramp.
“We've just come through a busy period against teams that have stretched us, so we're hoping that it might just be a reaction to that, but we'll have to wait and see.”
Speaking on the atmosphere in the squad after the victory: “It's very good, I think there was a little bit of emotion flying around but from the last two results I think everybody probably realises now they have to just calm down a little bit, there's going to be times when we get beat and other times when the opposition will get beat when not expected.
“York, a very good team as we found to our cost, but they get beat, Rochdale beat us here on our own patch and then the very next game they get beat, so it illustrates the point that even the very best teams in this league and we're in the mix in that conversation.
“We'll have occasions where we won't be able to win games so when that happens the reaction to it needs to be a little bit more considered and just look back on what we've done up to this point where we're 23 or 26 points rather with three to tonight that's two points a game, I think that's a hell of a return given we've only played 13 games.”
On the test Scunthorpe United will pose on Saturday: “We'll have to see, they're a very good side, clearly and in a rich vein of form, we know how difficult it is to go to York and get a positive result, but you have to wait and see how much has that game actually taken out of them.
“We've had examples where we've struggled to hit our levels because we've been involved in hard games just prior, so maybe they'll get a reaction from that, maybe they won't, maybe they'll ride a wave of confidence, we'll have to wait and see, but looking forward to it.
“It'll be a good test, it's a good opportunity for us, I don't think they've been beaten yet, so hopefully we can be the first ones to do. Everyone must be really fired up down there to go back-to-back again and obviously get another three on the board.
“That's our intention, we played really well tonight, so we're pleased with that, so we're in good form.”
Hughes shared a message for the fans: “I hope they enjoyed it.
“I thought it was a great performance, lots of goalmouth incidents, lots of chances, that's what we want to provide for them, so I hope they enjoyed it and look forward to the weekend.”
