Defender Scott Laird says that the Iron fans are the team’s 12th Man and that their role for this season shouldn’t be underestimated.
Laird wants to see Glanford Park with as many fans as possible on matchdays and believes that making it a tough place to visit for opposition teams will be vital for the outcome of the season.He said: “As the ticket says, they are our 12th Man and they are massively important.
"They do make a massive difference, especially on the pitch.
"We hear them, especially when we are getting up ahead of steam with some sustained pressure and they can make a big difference.
"We have a good, compact ground here and if we can pack it out to its full capacity then we’ll have a big advantage over the opposition.
“When we go to grounds as opposition players, and the opposing fans get their songs going and make the noise, it does affect us and it pushes us back towards our own goal.
"We need to do that at our place and make it a fortress. It needs to be a place where other teams don’t want to come and we need to use it to our advantage.”
The 12th Man scheme was introduced at the end of last season and is aimed at rewarding the loyalty of the club’s fans by giving them something back.
27-year-old Laird is a summer recruit at Scunthorpe after joining from Preston North End and he took part in his first team photo prior to the start of the upcoming League One campaign.
He revealed that it was one of his most enjoyable team photos of his career due to the number of Iron fans that came to Glanford Park.
He said: “To come out for your team photo and see the stand half full was brilliant. I think they really enjoyed it and I know that all the lads did and it was nice to see so many people. Hopefully we can keep that feel of family between the fans and the players going throughout the season.”
Laird’s first competitive home game will be on Tuesday night when Barnsley are the visitors at Glanford Park in the first round of the Capital Cup.