Iron defender Marcus Williams felt that the pre-season match against Huddersfield Town was very beneficial in helping Russ Wilcox’s side prepare for the new season coming up.
A solitary strike from Paddy Madden proved to be enough to beat Mark Robins’ Championship outfit and Williams believes that there were many positives to be taken from the game.Williams told The Iron Player: “It was a good performance from the lads and obviously a couple of the lads managed to get ninety minutes.
“The season is coming close now so we are working on getting our fitness. It was difficult because of the weather, but the first game of the season is going to be like that.
“We tried to keep the ball as much as possible, but Huddersfield had a good threat today and are a good team.”
Huddersfield will be playing in the Championship next season, a league above the Iron, but United proved to be a good match for their visitors.
The Iron restricted their visitors to very few chances, eventually keeping a clean sheet, which delighted Williams.
He said: “It was good, especially after the Lincoln game. Today was pleasing. We had a solid back four, the midfield and up front worked hard so the manager will take positives from that.”
While pre-season is often more about building up fitness and not necessarily about the result, it will have undoubtedly pleased Russ Wilcox at how his side contained their Championship opponents.
It will also prove a good guide for some of the tests that the Iron may face in future weeks and Williams felt that it was good to play against tough opposition.
He said: “It is always good to play against the better players and obviously test yourself. We’ve stepped up a division and we know that there’s going to be teams that are good on the ball, so it was a good game for us today.”
The Iron will be looking to use some of their momentum from an excellent campaign last season to help get some useful points on the board early on.
While recognising that momentum could come into the equation, Williams wants the Iron to treat the season as a clean slate and start again.
He added: “The boys are still on a high from last season, but that’s gone now. It’s a case of kicking on and proving we can do it in League One.”
Williams was a vital part of the team that secured promotion, returning to the Iron permanently in January last season and is in good shape for the new campaign.
The Iron defender had a hernia operation over the summer, but has made a quick recovery and has showed very little sign of his previous injury.
He stated: “I’m getting there. I have had operation so it’s been a bit of a slow start. I’m just trying to keep my head down and haven’t missed a training session, which has been key.”
Russ Wilcox will be hoping that the rest of his squad come through the remainder of pre-season unscathed ahead of the first league match at Swindon Town, just under a fortnight away.
See much more from Marcus Williams, and others, on The Iron Player.