Following the release of United’s 2014/15 Sky Bet League One fixtures, midfielder Terry Hawkridge believes a tough start lies in store for the club.
The Iron begin with an away game at Swindon before matches with Preston and Fleetwood on home soil and a trip to Yeovil at the end of the month.Four long distance trips will be made by Russ Wilcox’s side in the first two months of the season and whilst Hawkridge knows it will be a challenge for Scunthorpe this season he says the squad will take each game as it comes.
He told Scunthorpe-United.co.uk: “The Swindon game will be tough like most games in the league this year are going to be and being away in the first one always makes it that little bit more difficult.
“It’s always good to open your new season at home but we’ll take whatever comes and Swindon are a team that we’ve got to try and beat so it will be hard but I think we’ve got the team to do a good job.
“It’s always good to get the long distance trips out of the way and hopefully pick up as many points as we can on our travels.
“Most games are going to be tough this year, even the ones at home, so we’ve really got to concentrate on each game as it comes, have a good pre-season and just be fit and ready.”
A Capital One Cup first round tie at Blackburn Rovers follows the opening day trip to Swindon which will give the Iron squad a chance to test themselves against Championship opposition.
Hawkridge admitted that it’ll be an exciting season for the club, with many big games and local derbies to look forward to and believes United have the squad to hold their own this season.
“We played Barnsley in the cup last year and that was a great game so we’ll concentrate on the first league match and then go to Blackburn and do as well as we can,” he continued.
“We’re capable of going there and winning. We know they’re a good side but so are we so we have nothing to fear.
“There are some very good teams in League One this season so every game is going to be massive.
“We’ve just got to keep playing our football like we did last season, keep our heads down and pick up as many points as we can.
“Whoever it is we’re playing or wherever it is we have to travel, we’ll go and try and do the job as best as we can.
“There are lots of big games and lots of local derbies for us so I’m looking forward to every match and hopefully we can do well.”
After making the step up from non-league side Gainsborough Trinity last season, Hawkridge is now relishing the opportunity to further impress in League One.
The winger stated that the players will be doing all they can to try and finish as high as possible in the divisional table and can’t wait to get going again.
He added: “League Two was a massive challenge for me but I thought I did well and I got a lot of advice from some of the other players so I’m looking forward to the new season now and getting back into it again.
“I’m still learning, I’m only 24 so I’m really looking forward to the step up and playing against some big teams.
“As a player, you always want to try and do as well as you can and keep climbing the league so we’ll try and finish up as high in the table as possible.
“We’ve got to take each game as it comes and if we’re up and around where we want to be by Christmas time then we’ve just got to stay strong, keep pushing on and see where we finish.
“It’s my first year in League One so I’m going to do as best as I can. I think we’ll do well, we’ve got the squad to keep pushing on so I’m looking forward to it.”