Paul Hayes believes a point against Bury was a fair result and his side have every chance of winning the title.
This follows the 2-2 draw with Bury at Glanford Park which saw the Iron go to the top of the league, after Rochdale lost 3-0 to Mansfield Town.Paddy Madden put the Iron ahead midway through the second half, before Tom Soares levelled it up for the visitors.
Hayes then put Scunthorpe back in front after scoring his rebounded penalty following a save from Brian Jensen. However Danny Rose scored an injury-time equaliser to share the points at Glanford Park.
“I felt it was a fair result,” Hayes told The Iron Player.
“I think both teams didn’t really get going. Both teams had a few chances to score. It’s disappointing to be 2-1 up and concede last minute but I think it a draw was a fair result.”
The point did see Scunthorpe leapfrog Rochdale into top spot and Hayes said with the unbeaten record that the Iron are on, they deserve to be there.
He said: “The pressure is back on us now to go up as champions and to get promoted as quickly as possible now, as we are now top of the league.”
“With the unbeaten run that we are on and the games that we are winning and scoring goals, I think it is rightly so that we are top of the league.
“It is in our hands to grab it now and hopefully get over that hill in the Easter holidays.”
Bury have only suffered one defeat in their last ten matches and Hayes thinks that showed on the pitch.
He said: “They have come here with a plan. The players that they have got. They are going to make a real effort for next season.
"They were a hard team to break down and I think they made it difficult for us.
“We worry about ourselves and if we had played our game today, we would have won.”
Hayes came off the bench and scored his fourth goal for the club since his move back in January, a goal he believes will give the manager a tough decision on Friday.
“As a striker I was disappointed to not start the game as I started the last game, but all you can do is make an impact when you come on,” Hayes said.
“I got the goal and I think I did well when I did come on. I think I’ve made the decision hard for the manager for the next game.”
The draw extended the unbeaten run to 26 matches, a World Record for manager Russ Wilcox, overtaking Andre Villas Boas who went 25 games unbeaten at Porto.
Hayes said: “He’s been great.
“If one manager is going to do it, it is going to be Russ. He is positive, he is respectful, and he has done his trade obviously being an assistant manager for years."
“He gives you that confidence to go out there and enjoy yourself. Training is great, he lets the banter flow with the lads,” he continued.
“When things are hard he does go into you. All the credit we get as players is down to the manager.”
Next up for Scunthorpe is Morecambe on Friday, a game which Hayes doesn’t believe will be easy.
The Iron striker said: “It’s a side that’s not going to turn up and play through the motions. They are going to want to play for pride.
“It’s going to be a tough game but in our last ten home games we have drawn eight, so I think our best form is away from home.
“We are getting a lot of our wins away from home and Morecambe is a nice place to go to. So hopefully we will turn up, play well and take the three points."
See much more from Paul Hayes, Russ Wilcox and Terry Hawkridge on The Iron Player.