Goalkeeper Matt Gilks has challenged the side to regain their top six status in the division over the remaining six fixtures, starting with a positive result at AFC Wimbledon.
He spoke to iFollow Iron on how becoming a chasing team could play into United’s favour, along with the excitement that having something still to play for brings and the confidence within the ranks.
ON TRAINING AND PREPARATION…
MG: It’s been a bit up and down with the weather. As you can imagine, there’s been a lot of standing water on the pitches, so we’ve trained elsewhere earlier in the week. We’ve had some good sessions and everybody comes off feeling better for it.
ON AFC WIMBLEDON…
MG: Like I always say, it will be a tough game, especially where they are. They’re fighting and scrapping, so we’re under no illusions what it is going to be like. We’ve got to go down there and put our game onto them and hopefully we can come out victorious. They’re at home and expected to win, but we go there full of confidence from the Oxford game.
ON THE TWO UPCOMING VENUES (AFC WIMBLEDON AND CHARLTON)…
MG: No matter where you play, you’ve got a green pitch, white lines and a football. You’ve got to block all that out. Sometimes the smaller grounds can be quite hostile, but also quite funny at times with some of the things you hear. Charlton is a great stadium and is a Premier League stadium really. I’ve played there a few times before.
ON GETTING BACK INTO THE TOP SIX…
MG: It’s up to us to get back in there. After the Oxford game, I think how we played, especially in the first half, we can impose ourselves on anyone in this division. We think we’re going to get back in there anyway, so it’s up to us to do. When you’re there all season, you’ve got to stay there and you become the big scalp. Now we’ve dropped out, we’ve got to claw our way back in and those teams in there are under even more pressure to stay there.
ON HAVING SOMETHING TO PLAY FOR…
MG: I’ve been involved at teams in many a season where there’s been nothing to play for at this stage and can’t wait for the season to be over. What’s the point in playing football if you’re languishing in mid-table? You need a bit of excitement to end the year and hopefully we can do it.
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