United manager Russ Wilcox is looking forward to the local derby with Doncaster at the weekend, and he hopes home comforts prove to be the difference.
The Iron have beaten Coventry, Chesterfield and Walsall in our last four games at Glanford Park, losing only to Leyton Orient, and a result against Rovers could see the ground prove to be a fortress.“It’s going to be a great game, a good atmosphere, and Doncaster may bring a couple of thousand as they have a decent following,” Wilcox told The Iron Player, previewing the fixture.
The last time we were in the same league as Paul Dickov’s Donny, they did the double over us in consecutive seasons and the Iron boss is keen to put things right.
“We owe them one, we haven’t done well in recent years, we need the bragging rights back and I’m looking forward to it.
“As always, the fans have a huge part to play. It’s also up to the players as they have to give the fans something to shout about. We have to be up and at Doncaster, in their faces, showing a full committed and quality display.”
An injury crisis has seen the Claret and Blue start slowly to life in Sky Bet League One, but the squad remain upbeat and are keen to show their capabilities and Russ insists they must do that on Saturday.
“We need results, it’s as simple as that,” he added.
“We need to start moving up that table and if you can get the three points, it moves you. It’s still early on and it’s shown with some clubs that it a win moves you.
“It works the other way too, Fleetwood haven’t won for seven after winning their first three and they have quickly dropped down the table.
“Doncaster come on the back of a disappointing result at Walsall but apart from that, their away form is good but so is our home form. Can we win four out of five at home? We’ve got to make sure we win our home games.”
Doncaster have won three and draw twice, losing the rest and Barnsley and Yeovil are no higher than 15th in the division and last season’s Sky Bet Championship sides are finding it tough to adjust to life back in the third tier.
He added: “All three teams which came down from the Championship will be disappointed with where they are in the table. It looks like a league where anybody can beat anybody on their day and we’ve got to make sure we turn up and put in that display which we owe to the supporters.
“Things are tough at the moment and hopefully a win will turn a bit of negativity into a positive frame of mind.”
Our next five league games see us playing teams in the bottom half of the division- Doncaster, Gillingham, Colchester, Port Vale and Notts County and the boss feels these are the games his side need to be winning in order to turn the season around.
“The league is starting to take shape and the ones at the top are a lot of the ones we have played and we’re at the wrong end," he said.
“It’s a mini league and we’ve got to push up as quick as we possibly can. These games are key as we play a few sides around us and it’s so so important we pick up points.”
See much more from Russ Wilcox, and others, on The Iron Player.