Harrogate Town AFC

Watch the Gaffer's pre-Colchester interview here…
 


The Gaffer on Will Smith's performance against Scunthorpe last Saturday…

It's going to be a massive boost. I think he performed really well and was really strong, aerially. I thought both he and Shez pushed the line up really well and were determined, strong, resolute and good to get a clean sheet.

On what he liked more about last weekend; the three goals or the clean sheet…

Probably the clean sheet because I think we've proved that we can score goals throughout. It's always good and we can't complain with scoring three but it's definitely something that we've been working on, defensively. Everyone deserves some recognition from playing their part as well. The front players grafting, midfield players landing on firsts and seconds and definitely the back four should take a lot from that clean sheet.

On how a win can quickly improve morale…

The confidence levels rise from getting that second goal and I thought the middle of the park started to dictate the game and it was great. It's great stringing the passes together and with that, we created more and more opportunities to score.

It's given everybody a boost. It's good actually not having a midweek game for change and just having a bit more rest and enjoying the glow of a fine victory last weekend. No one's going overboard though, we know we need to show greater consistency and we'll be aiming for the three points this weekend.

On Colchester…

They're tough games. If you think back to last week at Scunthorpe, they made it a hard place to go. Their fans were right behind them and their team dug in for that first 20 minutes and Oxley had to keep the ball out of the back of the net with two fine saves. Colchester, no disrespect to Scunthorpe, is another step up and we've got to prove our worth and consistency levels right across the board in terms of the way we perform.

We expect them to play 4-2-3-1. They've got John Akinde up front, good experience with Cole Skuse and Freddie Sears and at the back as well two ex-Ipswich lads that form a solid platform and solid core to that team. We've got to come out of the blocks fast and aim to please the fans.

On Lewis Richards' season ending injury…

We don't seem to be getting the injuries that last a week to ten days. It's another player ruled out for the remainder of the season, which is a shame. We like Lewis and he's done well for us.

On the influence crowds have…

It's massive. I went up to Hartlepool the other night and they were 2-0 down to Mansfield but the fans drove the team on, and they ended up drawing the game 2-2. I think it's the same for when our fans are right behind our players as well. When there's a draw it doesn't half lift a manager and coaching staff and more importantly the players, so we're looking to take responsibility ourselves, first and foremost, get on the front foot and hopefully the fans will follow us.
 
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