Ahead of this weekend’s FA Cup first round clash at Forest Green Rovers, assistant manager Ned Kelly has stressed that United won’t underestimate their opponents.
Rovers are currently sixth in the Vanarama Conference and have a number of players in their squad that have represented clubs as high as Championship level in the past.And Kelly stated that Scunthorpe will treat the Nailsworth based side with an awful lot of respect.
He told The Iron Player: “We won’t underestimate them at all.
“They’ve got good management staff and I know one of the boys who’s working there and quite a few of their players so we’ll give them an awful lot of respect.
“That being said, we’re on a decent run of form at the moment so we’ll be looking to win the game.”
The competition gives the Iron an opportunity to go on a cup run and, in turn, gather some winning momentum.
Kelly has insisted that the team are placing large importance on winning Sunday’s game and progressing into the next round.
When asked how important it is to try and build a good cup run, Kelly continued: “Hugely important.
“I don’t believe that playing a massively changed squad is the right way to go.
“It’s a huge competition for everybody. The FA Cup is one of the most important competitions in world football, not just in British football, so it’ll be a game that we’ll be fully going out to win.”
Last Saturday’s 2-1 victory over Peterborough was the first since the arrival of Kelly and manager Mark Robins.
The assistant boss has been pleased with what he’s seen from the players and is hoping for another positive result at the New Lawn.
He added: “I think we’ve seen a steady progression since the Colchester game.
“The lads have given us absolutely everything. They’ve been superb on the training ground and they’ve been receptive on the pitch.
“On Saturday I thought that we thoroughly deserved the win at Peterborough against a good, well organised team and we’ll be looking to get another good win hopefully this weekend at Forest Green.”
See much more from Ned Kelly, Shaun Brisley and Marcus Williams on The Iron Player.