Iron midfielder Ian Morris, who could well be handed a starting place for the visit of Leicester City on Saturday due to injuries and suspension, believes the fact that United have already amassed 33 points stands them in excellent stead as the league leaders look to remain in the promotion shake-up come May.

League leading Scunthorpe entertain the second-placed Foxes, and Morris has expressed the importance of maintaining a winning run as the turn of the year approaches.

He told the Scunthorpe Telegraph: "It's good to have our amount of points at this stage of the season. We're averaging about two points a game, which is where you want to be.

"You can see the teams that are starting to play well and you can see the teams at the bottom that are struggling.

"But if you look at the table, two defeats and you're out of it if other teams around you win.

"You really need to be winning most weeks. You can't go two or three games without a win, you need to be doing it constantly.

"It's going to be a very tough end to the season."