Iron boss Graham Alexander is looking for his squad to build on a strong second half showing against Port Vale, and take a further three points from Saturday’s encounter with Southend United.
Alexander felt his players’ levels in the final 45 minutes at Glanford Park last weekend were superb, and he says he’ll be hoping for more of the same at Roots Hall this time around.Speaking to The Iron PlayerHD, Alexander said: “We know how tough this game is going to be, but we’ll approach it in the same way, and we’ll go there looking to win the match.
“We always commit to try to get three points and, if we play especially as well as we did in the second half last week, then we’ll give ourselves the best chance of doing that.
“We’re looking forward to the game and we know how tough it’ll be, but we’re looking forward to it - as we always do."
The last match-up between the two teams resulted in a 4-0 victory for Scunthorpe back in September, however Alexander was quick to point out that every match brings a different test.
“It was a good day for us, and we played exceptionally well on the day,” he stated.
“They’ve done exceptionally well since then I feel and they’re at the top end of the table now, competing for the play-offs at least.
“That game is now irrelevant to us - we have to focus on what’s important this Saturday.”
As well as praising the Iron’s second half performance in that 3-2 success against Vale, Alexander believes his players are now well placed to deliver a complete display this time around.
“There were a few tired bodies at the end of the game and, looking at it now, not playing the week before maybe affected our performance in the first half,” he explained.
“We need to start the game better this week, but we’ve spoken about that, and worked on it as well.
“We know we’ll have to do that for 90 minutes or 95, as you get in the modern game.”
Alexander had good news on the injury front also, and revealed that several of his squad are close to making returns.
He was keen to err on the side of caution on specific timeframes though, and doesn’t feel there’s a great need to rush anyone back into action.
“Mirf (David Mirfin) and Conor (Townsend) are continuing to build up their match fitness,” revealed Alexander.
“With David we’ve just got to be careful, because it was a nasty injury he sustained, in an awkward position.
“Paddy (Madden) has progressed really well in the last week or so. Hopefully his return to action will be imminent, but we won’t rush him until he’s exactly ready.
“Jordan Clarke will unfortunately miss out this Saturday, which is a shame for him. However, Scott Wiseman came into the team and performed exceptionally well.”
See much more from Graham Alexander and Craig Davies on The Iron PlayerHD.
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