Neal Bishop believes every game in League One is equally crucial, and insisted that’s no different heading into Saturday's away fixture against Bolton Wanderers.
The match at the Macron Stadium is, in Bishop’s eyes, vital.However, he stated “they’re all big games” throughout the season.
Giving his thoughts to The Iron PlayerHD ahead of the game, Bishop said: “They’re all big games, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing against.
“There are three points on the table if you manage to win so, without wanting to put too much importance on a single game, it’s the next match so it’s the biggest one.
“We’ve done it well all season. It’s not about league positions or the like, it’s about points accumulation.
“It’s not where you are at the end of December, it’s where you are at the end of April that counts.
“There are another three points available, and it’s about racking up as many as possible.”
The 35-year-old says the squad are aware of the difficult task that Phil Parkinson’s team will present.
Nevertheless, he feels it’s all about the visitors imposing themselves on the game from the off.
“We’ve watched them a few times, they’re fairly direct, and they’re a big team,” he explained.
“We’ll certainly do our homework on them but, as it is with any other game, from our point of view it’s all about what we do and not what the opposition does.
“I think if we play well we’re more than a match for any team in this league. We’ll be well briefed on them, but we’ll be concentrating on ourselves and what we can do.”
The New Year’s Eve clash is quickly followed by a home encounter with Peterborough United on Monday, and Bishop sees the festive period as a huge opportunity to send out a signal of intent to the rest of the chasing pack.
“It’s always enjoyable playing over Christmas - the crowds are a little bit bigger,” Bishop declared.
“It is a big part of the season, with the games coming thick and fast."
See much more from Neal Bishop, Graham Alexander and Luke Daniels on The Iron PlayerHD.
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