Everton-loanee defender Shane Duffy spoke to the Scunthorpe Telegraph ahead of his side's League One game against Carlisle at Glanford Park tomorrow, Duffy bemoaning the Iron's recent poor run of form :
"November was a bad month. We have to laugh about it now but we have to turn it around. When I first came I was thinking, 'yeah, we're going to be near the top'. I'm probably the same as the fans. I didn't know a lot about Scunthorpe before I came, I was just looking from the outside. When I'm here, it's been different. But we've been unlucky to be where we are. The month was terrible for us. It was just a really bad month, we haven't even played well and haven't won.
“At the start I was thinking, 'we're playing well, so it's alright, it's going to turn round'. But last month we haven't even played well. It's just one of those things in football. Hopefully we can just forget about it. I thought the performance was there the other week (against Notts County) and we could have just kicked on from that. Now we've had a full two weeks to prepare for the Carlisle game, so we'll have no excuses. It's a massive game for us. We've got to win, no matter what.
"Me and Niall (Canavan) know each other a lot, I knew him before I came here. You want to show the manager that he can play and trust a young defence. Both of us said before the game, 'let's just go out and show him what we can do together'. It doesn't matter about the age, it's the way you play. The fans probably thought it was a bit of a risk to have a 19 and 20-year-old playing at this time. But I thought we did allright.
"Maybe Cliff (Byrne) coming back gave us all a lift, having a character and leader in there. Cliff's the captain. He does a lot on the pitch and off the pitch, which helps the young lads. We had two young centre-halves playing on Saturday and then Ash (Palmer) came on at left-back. It's good to have Cliff there, he's always talking, which is good."
Meanwhile Iron boss Alan Knill reflected to his club's official site on having a blank Saturday last weekend :
"I would have much rather been playing Bradford (who Scunthorpe's conquerors AFC Wimbledon faced) than that. But we weren't so it gives you the time to address some of the things which needed attention. We have had time to work on team shape and pressing. I have to say that the team have worked really hard. But if I am honest I wouldn't have expected anything else.
"Jimmy (Ryan) came back into training this week, to be honest, he took me by surprise with just how sharp he looked. Damien Mozika will hopefully be back towards the start of next week. Both of them are quality players who have been missed. For the last few weeks it has been a case of waiting to see who is available before we can work on anything in training. For the first time in a while we are actually starting to have some competition for places.
"November was a really poor month, now we need to draw a line under it and move on. That's the good thing about football, you lose but there is always another game soon after. We all know that things can change really quickly. It's about keeping a cool head during the tough times and maintaining a focus on what the team is capable of even when they are on a bad run. In this league any team can go on a bad run, come out the other side and win the next five. That's what we need to do now, starting this weekend."
As far as team news is concerned for Scunthorpe tomorrow, they have struggled with injuries all season and those problems show little signs of abating, the Iron currently missing five players injured and having one suspended, while another two won’t be fully fit going into the game. Working from the back, goalkeeper Josh Lillis being the first absentee with knee ligament damage, that therefore yesterday seeing Alan Knill extend the loan spell of 18-year old Manchester United stopper Sam Johnstone for another month.
In defence meanwhile former Blues centre-half Paul Reid misses out with a groin problem, but it is in midfield where Scunthorpe’s biggest worries are with Michael Collins (Achilles) and Damien Mozika (ankle/foot) both absent, while ex-Carlisle loanee Oliver Norwood is serving the first of a three match ban after being sent off in the Iron’s defeat at Notts County. The final player definitely watching from the stands at Glanford Park being striker Matt Godden who has a hip injury.
There are also doubts about the participation of central defender and skipper Cliff Byrne who picked up a slight groin strain in training on Monday, but the home side should be able to call up Jimmy Ryan to the bench after the frontman played 45 minutes for the reserves in a 2-1 home defeat against Gateshead on Wednesday, Ryan having been out for nearly three months with firstly a knee problem and then latterly a calf strain.
Knill does have some other good news coming back into his squad though as defensive midfielder and vice-captain Sam Togwell is available again after seeing out a one-match ban in the Notts County game after he picked up five yellow cards this season, while left-back Andrew Wright also missed that match as he was attending the birth of his first child.
The referee for tomorrow's match is Darren Deadman from Peterborough and he will be assisted down the lines by Chris Akers from Armthorpe in South Yorkshire and Simon Clayton from Newton Aycliffe in County Durham. Meanwhile the fourth official is Anthony Tankard from Sheffield.