Iron manager Graham Alexander was full of praise for his squad following the 4-1 success against Swindon Town.
Paddy Madden’s first-half double and further strikes from Duane Holmes and Kevin van Veen put United firmly in control at the break, with Swindon’s consolation arriving in the second period.Naturally thrilled with the commanding three point haul, Alexander told The Iron PlayerHD: “I’m delighted. The all-round performance was excellent.
“There was a little dip in the second-half which is slightly understandable but the players are really happy with their first-half performance.
“We wanted to win the second-half as well but the mentality shown by the players was superb.
“We set high standards for ourselves and we want to maintain those.
“We scored four excellent goals with some real incisive, attacking play as well as some strong defensive work at the other end so it was a good day all round.
“It could have been more in the second-half but looking at the performance as a whole and the result, I’m so pleased with the players.”
The opening goal arrived with 15 minutes on the watch as Madden put away a real poacher’s finish in the area before adding his second and Scunthorpe’s fourth right on half-time.
Keen to heap acclaim on the Irishman’s display, Alexander revelled how his front man has an individual accolade in his sights to motivate him to do well this season.
“Paddy wants to be top scorer,” the boss continued.
“He’s chasing people in front of him at the moment and when you’re chasing something as a team and an individual, you produce better performances.
“He’s set the bar high in the last couple of games with regards to his physical output, how he runs in behind and causes defences all sorts of problems.
“I thought the front four all did that again today, as they did last week.
“That’s how I want my players to be. Hungry to win games and then do the best they can for themselves and Paddy is the epitome of that.”
As well as highlighting the impact fellow goal scorers Holmes and van Veen had on the outing, Alexander went on to issue a quick injury update following some withdrawals as the match went on.
He added: “Duane’s been fantastic. He’s such a bubbly character and has got great enthusiasm for the game.
“He brings a smile to people’s faces in the crowd, he’s a real threat and it was great interplay for his goal.
“Kev’s was a superb finish. We know the qualities we have skill-wise and technically but it’s on the basis of hard work and we worked extremely hard to make it difficult for Swindon.
“Wisey (Scott Wiseman) got a knock on the injury he had before but I don’t think it’s too major.
“He could have carried on and it was the same with Kev.
“If the scoreline had been different, perhaps we may not have been as cautious but hopefully they’ll recover over the weekend and be available for next week.”
See much more from Graham Alexander, Paddy Madden and Murray Wallace on The Iron PlayerHD.
Tweets by @SUFCOfficial