Marcus Williams feels he is starting to “come into his own” in his role in the side this season.
He said that as he reflected on last weekend’s victory over Peterborough United and looked ahead to Sunday’s FA Cup first round match at Forest Green.The defender has played every minute of every game since September 6, which is a run of twelve consecutive matches.
Williams has also been impressed with the positive impact that manager Mark Robins and his coaching staff have had on him and the squad since their arrival.
He told The Iron Player: “I think I am playing well. The gaffer’s said just keep doing what you’re doing and he’s obviously happy.
"Ned’s (Ned Kelly) been impressed and said he’s happy with me and I now feel I’m just starting to come into my own a bit and I feel fit and sharp so I’m enjoying it.
“It’s (training) been tough. The boys are just getting used to it and adapting which takes a bit of time.
"The gaffer is still wanting to work on things and he’s talking to all the players.
“For me personally, he’s been great because the position and the role he wants me to do has helped me massively.
"I’ve been getting up and down a lot and prior to the start of the season I wasn’t doing that because I was staying at the back more so this new role is great for me.
"Speaking to a few of the boys, even the ones that haven’t been playing, they’ve said he’s spoken to them and is keeping them on their toes and making sure they’re on the level for some fitness because they are going to be called upon at some stage this season.”
This weekend sees Robins’ squad face lower league opposition, when they travel to Conference side Forest Green Rovers in the FA Cup first round.
After picking up a vital three points away at Peterborough, Williams and his team mates head to the New Lawn Stadium on Sunday full of confidence.
However, the Iron full back is weary of the threat that their opponents, who sit seventh in the Conference, offer and is not expecting an easy game.
He said: “I think it’ll be tough. They’re not going to be a pushover and everyone will think that Scunthorpe will go there and win but it’ll be a game where we have to roll our sleeves up with tackles flying in.
"No matter what, we’re looking to come away with a win because the main thing is getting to the next round.
“There’s no better feeling than winning and obviously everybody knows that this club is used to winning with the promotions we’ve had in my time here.
"Losing is not a good thing for myself, or for anybody, but now we’re starting to come into our own and results are starting to go our way and the boys are working hard.”
A huge positive to the Iron squad has been the recent additions of Isaiah Osbourne, on a three month deal, and Luke Williams, who is on loan from Middlesbrough.
Williams scored the first goal in last weekend’s 2-1 victory over the Posh, whilst Osbourne found the winner, with both goals being their first for the club.
Williams has had time to get to know his new team mates and has been very impressed with their impact on the squad, both on the field and in the changing room.
He said: “They are two different players. Luke has got great feet and is deceivingly quick.
"He gets into them spaces so when I, or anyone in midfield, gets the ball he is in the pockets and in the holes and can drag two or three players out of the game very quickly.
"He’s great for us and his finish was a great goal on Saturday.
“In the changing rooms ‘Ozzy’ looks two stone wet through but on the pitch he’s a bit of a beast. He played a lot of Championship football last year and he can play football.
"But at the same time if the game is not going pretty and nice then he can rat about and can put a tackle in so he’ll be good for us.”
A further boost to the team was the return of Sam Slocombe to first team action, who had been out since picking up an injury in the first weeks of the season.
Slocombe is the club captain and returned to the starting line up at London Road, with on loan goalkeeper Bobby Olejnik unable to play against his parent club.
Williams has a good relationship with his captain following their years of playing together, including last year’s promotion winning season, and it’s no surprise that the 28 year old defender is happy to see his team mate back on the pitch.
He said: “Sam was captain last year and is club captain at the moment. He had a good run last year and it’s a shame he got injured this season.”
“Him coming back is good for me because it’s another familiar guy back on the pitch, no disrespect to Bobby but Sam is the number one goalkeeper. Whether the gaffer sticks with that or changes it, that’s up to him, but it’s nice to have another familiar guy on the pitch.”
Saturday’s win made it three away games in succession without defeat for the Iron and moved them three places up the table and just one point away from moving out of the relegation zone.
Marcus Williams reflected on a well-earned three points and said: “I think the game went well. Obviously we didn’t start as well as we wanted to but after getting the first goal we managed to find our shape and get on the ball and get into better areas.
“Second half we had a couple more chances and they weren’t really threatening Sam and I think the boys defended well throughout the team.
"We managed to put the goals into the back of the net this time instead of missing chances. The gaffer has been on at the boys because we need to punish teams by being more ruthless and I think that’s what we did on Saturday.
"They started to get a few corners towards the end and you could see that we are starting to defend well and its been like that for a couple of weeks now. Obviously the last few games we’ve been solid as a team and it is starting to show now.
“I don’t think there’s too much to fear in this league having been and done it myself. Peterborough had lost their main players throughout the summer and had a couple injured on Saturday but there wasn’t anything to fear at all. I don’t think many teams have and if we can go and do what we are doing then not many teams will get results against us.”
See much more from Marcus Williams, Shaun Brisley and Ned Kelly on The Iron Player.