Manager Graham Alexander knows that Bristol Rovers will offer a difficult test when the Iron make the journey to the Memorial Stadium this weekend.
The Iron came back from behind twice to draw 2-2 against Northampton last Saturday and believes his side can get back to winning ways.
Speaking to iFollow Iron, Alexander previewed the game and also gave updates on Marnick Vermijl and Ivan Toney.
ON PREPARATION FOR THE BRISTOL ROVERS GAME…
GA: It has been good. We had a reserve game on Tuesday for the players that haven’t been playing much, which has done them the world of good. You can lose a bit of match fitness when you haven’t been playing as much as you would like. It was a real positive for us all. Everyone has played a game this week, which is important going into the weekend and everyone is fit and available. We can select from a good group of players.
ON BRISTOL ROVERS…
GA: It is always a tough place to go. I think they have got a very good home record and it will be a tough venue to go to. We are looking to win the game for our purpose, motivation, and to get three points and stay in touch with everything that is going on at the top end of the table. We want to get back to winning ways after a difficult period of probably drawing too many games. That is something we want to address and put right. Saturday is the first opportunity to do that and we are going to give it our best shot.
ON TRAVELLING TO THE MEMORIAL STADIUM…
GA: It is an environment players relish playing in. Any team playing at home is expected to play in an attacking sense and commit bodies forward. That is something we can try and take advantage of. The supporters really get behind their team, but we have got a really good away record and we are second highest scorers away from home. We always look to win a game so I don’t see why we should change our outlook and philosophy on how we approach games. We know we have to beat many good teams to be where we want to be. Saturday is another tough challenge but we are always confident on what we can contribute to a game of football.
ON MARNICK VERMIJL…
GA: He is making really good progress, but he still not there yet. He feels a lot better in himself and seems to be quite confident that he won’t be out for much longer. He certainly won’t be available this weekend.
ON IVAN TONEY…
GA: Ivan is struggling for the weekend. We will see how he is, but my gut instinct is that he possible won’t be available. We will have to make decisions after training and pick the team that we feel will give Bristol Rovers the most problems. We have got enough attacking options in the squad to put a team out, which we can create chances and score goals.
ON FURTHER INJURIES…
GA: There are no other injuries. There is a little bit of an illness going around in the squad, but we will see how they are before we name the team Saturday.