Nigel Adkins Talks About Tomorrow

Last updated : 13 March 2009 By Thetashkentterror

Nigel Adkins
Iron boss Nigel Adkins spoke to the Scunthorpe Telegraph and his club's official website about their game against the Blues at Brunton Park tomorrow, Adkins in traditional football speak taking things one game at a time :


" It's always going to be challenging when you play away from home. It's a big pitch at Carlisle - and we've got to expect the unexpected.They are down at 16th in the table but you have got to expect the unexpected and you don't take anything for granted.

" After tomorrow, seven of our last ten games are at home - three of them against teams who are in the bottom three at the moment. We've got two teams above us in the play-off positions who we have games in hand over. One of those matches in hand is Hereford at home - if we win that we go fifth.

" We now have Carlisle away and we need to win that game, as we have to win every game of football between now and the end of the season. We are focusing on one game at a time. Come May 2nd when we play Tranmere Rovers we'll look at the league table and say 'where are we'. All being well, we'll still be in a position which means we can get promoted.

" We've had a few results go against us and we entered the month of March saying that this was the time in which we wanted to kick on. We put in a great performance against Walsall but in really difficult conditions we just couldn't hold onto the victory we needed. We then got a great victory against Stockport.

" Our destiny is still very much in our own hands and if we can keep trying to play how we played in the first half at Peterborough - which was unbelievable football, way beyond League One standard - we will give ourselves an opportunity. We went out all guns blazing and the first 45 minutes was potentially the best football ever seen in a Scunthorpe shirt. "



" Darren Ferguson (their boss) was very complimentary about our team, and he was right - we were absolutely exhilarating. We've had an excellent debrief - drawn a blue line underneath it like Tiger Woods does and we've moved on. We had an excellent recovery session on Thursday because the lads have put so much effort in. Because we are playing games every three days it is so physically demanding and we're all looking forward to the next game coming our way - which is against Carlisle on Saturday.

" Gary Hooper has picked up an injury, and again, the injury is a fatigue one that he has picked up because of the amount of work that he does. He does work very, very hard and again he is our first line of defence, him and Paul Hayes put a lot of graft in and a lot of work in and it his first full season really. He is a young player only just turned 21 and we have got to appreciate that as well. We have just got to try to be as sensible as we can so that the player doesn't break down.

" Like we did with Martyn Woolford. We took him out of the equation for a little bit and he is fine now, he is raring to go again, his batteries are recharged and he is desperate to get back in. Kevan Hurst knows that as well though and the way that Kevan has been playing is going to make it hard for Wooly to get back in, but that is great for us at this football club. That we have got forward thinking players who are on top of their game at this moment in time.

" I hope that we don't have to take Gary out, we will just have to see, he has obviously been in the treatment room this morning getting some treatment. We will see what he is like, the teamsheet will go in at two o'clock on Saturday and we will just see what is what. If he is not fit then obviously we have got big Kay (Kayode Odejayi) in the building and I think that Kay has got so many attributes that people would die for.

" He has got pace, strength, power, his ability to control the football, he has got a great smile, he is great in the dressing-room and he wants to be part of the lads. Maybe things just haven't quite gone for him at this moment in time at a different football club. He just needs to build that bit of confidence up and hopefully we can allow him to do that, allow him to make some mistakes, because he is a nice guy, he is a genuine guy and he is one that wants to do well. "