Captain Rory McArdle is pleased with the Iron’s start to the campaign, following three consecutive league wins, but he recognises that they need to maintain their performances.
The 30-year-old has been at the heart of the defence for those victories, keeping three clean sheets in the process.
Speaking to iFollow Iron, the centre-back looked ahead to the Blackpool game, while providing his thoughts on the double deadline day signings.
ON BEATING BURY 1-0…
RM: Everyone knows how difficult it is to win away from home and I think throughout the game we probably deserved it, but I know they had a few spells in the game where we had to be resolute and defend. We showed all sides to our game, that we can be strong, we can all stick together and defend and equally we know when we go forward or have a set-piece we have that bit of quality in the final third. As we saw last Saturday, Josh produced it at the perfect time.
ON THE IRON’S START TO THE SEASON…
RM: The stats are always there and there have been some positive ones getting mentioned, so we’re obviously doing something right, but we want to keep improving on that. It’s no good looking back at this start if we don’t try and build on it. We always knew that if we put a couple of wins together, it soon turns into a good start, and that’s what we’ve managed to do. It is a good start, but we want to maintain that. Obviously it’s early in the season and want to keep taking each game as it comes.
ON THE DRESSING ROOM…
RM: It’s really good and it is always nice to have that team spirit after the recent run of games we’ve had. Everyone’s confidence is really high, so we want to try and maintain that and keep the team spirit positive.
ON THE DEADLINE DAY SIGNINGS LEE NOVAK AND ANDREW CROFTS…
RM: If you look at both of their track records, they’ve both played a lot of games between them. They’re experienced lads. If you look across the dressing room, there is a lot of good young talent here and to have those experienced heads, it will help the lads both on and off the pitch. It’s a long old season and we’ve got two, if not three, players for each position. It provides that extra bit of competition, which is what we want, so hopefully they hit the ground running and settle in quick. I’m sure they will be coming into a positive, enjoyable environment, and the lads will make them feel welcome just like they did for me as well. Lee Novak came on at Bury and we saw the quality he’s got. When you're looking for someone to hold the ball up or win you a free-kick, or just to take the sting out of the game, he did that and he had a massive impact.
"We showed all sides to our game, that we can be strong, we can all stick together and defend and equally we know when we go forward or have a set-piece we have that bit of quality in the final third."
ON BLACKPOOL AT HOME THIS WEEKEND…
RM: They’ve had a good start. When teams come up they will want to try and keep that momentum going and keep that confidence high. They’ve had a positive start so I’m sure their confidence is good, and they won again at the weekend. They will be in high spirits and I’m sure they will be looking to come here and make it difficult for us. They will have a game plan to try and win the game, but ultimately we’ve just got to stick to what we’re doing. We’ve been strong, resolute and going forward we look good.
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