Defender Rory McArdle has spoken about the need for the squad to keep ‘at it’ as they prepare to host Colchester United on Saturday (3pm kick-off).
Scunthorpe sit 14th in the league going into the game and victory could take them up to 11th.
The opposition are in good form themselves though, presentiy eighth in the table, and buoyed by a 1-0 home win over Salford City last weekend, secured through a late Harry Pell goal.
United are in confident mood though, having won 2-0 away at Forest Green Rovers, who sit in the automatic promotion places, last weekend to make it five victories on the spin in all competitions.
McArdle told iFollow Iron: “We knew (Forest Green) was going to be a tough game, as they’ve been where they are in the league for quite a lot of the season and there’s a reason why they’re there. They’ve shown that consistency.
“To go there and get a result like we did, away from home and the way we did made, made it a perfect away result.”
It’s now back-to-back wins away from home in the league, and clean sheets too, with the recent success at Leyton Orient the first away from the Sands Venue Stadium in league competition since January.
McArdle added: “It was obviously well-publicised, but we knew we weren’t far away. The performance levels at times weren’t warranting some of the results, but we’ve been patient, shown commitment, stuck with the gameplan and we’re getting the rewards now. We have to keep building on that and make sure it’s not wasted.
“Whenever you win football matches, it’s always good and you can see how quickly things change. On the training ground, everyone’s bubbling and you go into games with that bit more confidence, and things start coming off more in the final third. We’re creating chances.
“You look at the goals last Saturday. A few weeks ago, who knows if (Abo) Eisa or Gilly (Alex Gilliead) would even have taken those shots on. It’s a confidence thing and you see the belief we’ve all got. We want to keep building on it.
“No matter what league you’re in, no games are easy. This is a hard division and you have to be at it all the time, regardless of who you’re playing. In recent weeks, I feel that’s been a big factor, and it should be expected from everyone. The recent results show how far it can take you.”
Speaking about the Colchester match, in which the Iron will be hoping to make it ten home games unbeaten, McArdle continued: “It’s similar to last weekend, facing a team that are up there and have been in good form, coming into it on the back of a win. To score late on gives that added boost as well, so I’m sure they’ll have had a good positive week. We’re in good form as well though and it’s another opportunity for us to show we can compete with teams up there. We have to carry on what we’re doing and not take our foot off the gas.
“It’d be great (to keep the runs going). It’s always nice to have these runs and we want to keep building on them but it’s not something we’re talking about really. We want to take each match as it comes, build bit by bit, look at each game and try to keep things going as long as possible.
“We want to make sure we’re at it going into the Christmas period because once you get into early January, it can really push you up the table.”
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