Scunthorpe boss Russ Wilcox is relishing the chance to allow striker Paddy Madden face his former side on Saturday.
Madden joined the Iron in January, dropping down two leagues to play in claret and blue, while just seven months on the teams meet in the same league, with him set to feature for the first time against the Glovers.While Wilcox is excited at allowing Madden terrorise his former teammates, he admits he has spoken to him to ensure he’s not irrational over the 90 minutes.
“I’ve had a chat with him today and he’s up for it,” Wilcox told The Iron Player.
“I have to make sure he’s not too up for it and that he doesn’t go charging about and ends up getting a silly yellow card or even worse; a red. He’s got to be focused in what he’s doing and hopefully he can get us a couple of goals, that’s the idea of Paddy returning – to show Yeovil what they’re missing.
“He scored 24 goals for Yeovil and since coming to us, he’s done well. He’s had opportunities in all games, so he’s doing the right things. He is a little bit down on himself that he hasn’t scored more goals to help the team, but again it’s about him carrying on to get in the right areas. Doing that, he will score more goals.”
While Madden is in the media focus on his return to Somerset, Wilcox expanded the statement to his whole team that they are ready to bounce back and claim their first points of the season.
“It’s about trying to keep spirits high in the camp,” he continued.
“Mine certainly are. I’m down after a defeat and so you should be, and I’m disappointed for the supporters who have been outstanding in the two home games and we’ve not delivered.”
He added: “There’s a lot of time to turn that around, there’s a long way to go and they have to keep the belief along with us. We’ve had a good training session today and we’ll be taking that into Saturday.”
Any goal for the Irish striker would expand on the one he has so far this season, in the 3-1 defeat to Swindon Town on the opening day. Should he get his second of the campaign at Huish Park, Wilcox expects Madden to not excessively celebrate and avoid a cheap yellow card.
“Again, you don’t want a silly yellow card for things that you can avoid,” he said.
“He’s fine about that. I’ve had a good chat with him this morning and he’s looking forward to the game, along with everybody else.
“After a win, draw or a defeat, you have to look forward to the next one and go into it full of positivity. We’re going to win at Yeovil, the same as in every game. We haven’t got any points on the board at the moment, but we have to believe that we can.”
He added: “I’ve got full belief in the group that I’m working with, that we can turn this around and start pushing our way up that table.”
A victory away from home would be their second in successive competitive matches after a 1-0 win over Blackburn Rovers in the Capital One Cup, with the Iron gaffer challenging his side to emulate that kind of performance once more.
“Every single player performed well on the night when you look through the team,” he continued.
“That’s not quite happened in other games. We’ve had seven or eight at it, or six or seven at times. It has to be the full eleven and in that performance it was. Everybody has to know their roles and responsibilities and do the right things as individuals and then that benefits the team collectively.”
He added: “That’s what we’ll aim to do on Saturday.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox, and others, on The Iron Player.