Iron boss Graham Alexander revealed there’s an excitement in the squad heading into Saturday’s Emirates FA Cup first round encounter against Charlton Athletic.
Alexander says September’s home draw with the weekend’s opponents makes everyone fully aware of the challenge which awaits at the Valley.Speaking to The Iron PlayerHD, Alexander said: “There’s a buzz about the boys, I think the FA Cup always brings a different atmosphere to the club.
“It’s a great competition for the players and supporters alike. We’re looking forward to the game, we know it’s going to be a tough one because we’ve played Charlton already this season in the league.
“That was an extremely hard game. They came and set up in a way which was difficult to break down, and we’ll see if it’s any different on Saturday with it being at their ground.
“It’s two good football teams who are looking to progress to the next round, so we’ll go down there and give it our best shot.”
Despite matters shifting from the league, the Scunthorpe manager insists there will be no change in mentality from both his players and his staff.
Alexander stated the team owe it to the supporters to put in a positive performance against the Addicks, and he says he’ll be expecting a strong display on Saturday from the team.
“It’s a little bit of a break from the league programme, with two cup games in quick succession. I’m sure we’re going to take a good following down to London on Saturday, and hopefully we can give them a result that makes them proud,” he stated.
“Whatever game, whatever competition, we always approach it in the professional way and we want to win the game, it’s as simple as that.
“The supporters won’t go to any game and accept us not giving everything we’ve got to win. We as professionals are the same, we can’t turn this competitive tap on and off.
“We have to hit the ground running every game and fully commit to it - Saturday will be no different. Hopefully the performance will show that.”
On the injury front, there was good news all round as Alexander revealed that players such as Scott Wiseman and Kevin van Veen have reacted well to knocks sustained in last weekend’s win over Swindon Town.
In addition to the positive update on Wiseman and van Veen, there was much the same with regards to Luke Williams and Jordan Clarke, who both are stepping up their respective recoveries from injury.
“Scott Wiseman didn’t train in the first part of the week, but he trained on Thursday and didn’t seem to be carrying any ill effects from that knock, which is good,” he revealed.
“Kevin van Veen has trained all week, so he’s fine after coming off last week. That was more precautionary than anything else.
“Apart from that we’ve had no new injury worries or scares in training, so we should have a good squad to take down to London.
“Luke (Williams) and Jordan (Clarke) are looking stronger every day. I think being out on the pitch and getting proper football training is a massive benefit for them.
“Jordan’s not been out for as long as Luke has, so he’ll be back up and running probably quicker than Luke will be.”
See much more from Graham Alexander, Stephen Dawson and David Mirfin on The Iron PlayerHD.
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