United defender Niall Canavan says lessons have been learned after a “mixed bag of results” in February.
The Iron went undefeated in three of their last four games at Glanford Park, beating Swindon and Chesterfield. They lost to Barnsley and Oldham in a tough month which saw Mark Robins’ men play seven games.The last of those was on Saturday, when Terry Skiverton’s Yeovil left North Lincolnshire with a point, following a 1-1 draw, and the centre-back says there were positives to take from the match.
“We are obviously disappointed we didn’t get the three points” Canavan told The Iron Player on Monday.
“But a lot of our play was to a good standard and in the final third we have to pick the right ball or make the right run to finish it off.
“That was lacking really but it’s not something we will get too down about, obviously everyone looks at their league position and thinks we should be beating them.
“Not to be too down, we have plenty to be moving forward with and hopefully we can start finding that cutting edge.
“A lot is made of how the games at home go and it is probably a sign of respect that a lot of teams are coming and trying to sit in and absorb pressure and nick something on the counter attack.
“It is a new challenge for us and a lot of our game was good and it is just the cutting edge we aren’t quite getting.”
A quick turnaround sees the Iron travel to Fleetwood on Tuesday evening, in Sky Bet League One, as part of a congested fixture list.
Canavan is expecting another tough outing at Highbury, against a side that came up from League Two with Scunthorpe last season.
He said: “Our away form has been good, we have had a bit of a hectic fixture list and in March I think we get one Tuesday off.
“We will maybe have to use that to regather our energies and we will be going all out to get as many points as we can, whether it’s at home or away, so we can get as many points on the board and see where we can finish the season.
“Every time we have played them it has been a tight game to be fair, I expect nothing less than that. They have been hovering around mid-table going under the radar and they are probably content with how it’s going so far.
“Hopefully we can go there and make a move up the table.”
The Cod Army will be without key man Antoni Sarcevic though, after he was sent off in their defeat at Chesterfield at the weekend, but Canavan expects an equally as tough test in his absence:
“He is a good player for them,” he stated. "He always seems to have an impact on their team and he is a forward-thinking player, so he gives them something in that respect. I am sure they will have someone to slot in and do the job just as well.”
With another month over with, the 23-year-old says February was a learning curve for himself and his team-mates, who were joined by Conor Townsend on Saturday.
The Hull defender signed on loan before the Glovers match and Canavan was impressed with what he saw from the 21-year-old.
He added: “It’s never plain sailing in football with the way the league has been this year, we have probably moved forward as a squad and learnt a lot of lessons and the younger members of the team have probably picked up a number of things.
“We have a lot of young lads here and there’s a lot to be taken from it. Hopefully it sets us up nicely for a good March and April.
“Conor did well on Saturday, especially to say he had not trained with anyone. He walked in, said hello and got on with it. I thought he did really well and hopefully he can push on and do more now.”