Having had time to digest Saturday’s 1-1 draw over Northampton Town, manager Russ Wilcox reiterated his disappointment over the weekend’s result.
That said; United did equal a club record of nineteen games without defeat – a record set in 2006/07 when the Iron won promotion to the Championship after finishing first in the league.“It was a game we should have seen off,” Wilcox told The Iron Player.
“It was also a game we should have managed better. We have to move on quickly though and the players have been debriefed – as we always do – win, lose or draw there is always something you can learn from.
“We’ve done that and now we have to be fully focused on Southend and be positive. It is important that we do remain positive. We’ve just equalled a club record; it didn’t feel like that on Saturday, but I’ve had time to digest that now and it is a magnificent achievement from this group of players.”
He added: “A win tomorrow night will take us to 40 points from 20 games, so if we can do that, it will be an amazing achievement.”
The game at Glanford Park against Southend United gives the Iron the opportunity to break the record previously set seven years ago. And although that won’t be the direct focus, nine wins and ten draws in those nineteen games speaks for itself on the road to promotion from the division.
“It’s still something to be proud of,” he continued.
“The key to it is being unbeaten. I agree with a lot of the fans and what they’re saying and everybody knows we’d swap a couple of draws for a few defeats and more points along the way. It is all about points.
“I think it shows how together the group are and how competitive the group have been in 19 games on the trot. It’s hard to find that consistency at any level. This season, teams have been up and down. Fleetwood won on Saturday, but they had no goals in four and you look at Chesterfield who have picked up just one point from their previous two games against, no disrespect, Portsmouth and Accrington. If you asked me how many points they’d get from those two games, I’d probably have said at least four, maybe six.”
He added: “It’s an inconsistent league and we’re probably the only team that has been consistent.”
Following two games on the sidelines, Wilcox is ready to welcome back Gary McSheffrey into the squad for the visit of the Shrimpers who are without a win in ten games in all competitions. He recovers from a back problem which sidelined him against Newport and Northampton.
“Fingers crossed he is going to be okay,” he stated.
“He’s trained today and we’re looking now if there’s any reaction from that. He will be assessed in the morning and we will go from there.”
“Andy Welsh isn’t training at the moment as he has a little inflammation in his Achilles. We will keep assessing him daily and we want to make sure that when he’s back, he will be back for good.”
He added: “I don’t think he’s too far away.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox and Sam Winnall on The Iron Player.