Nuttall: We must believe in each other and give it a real go

Striker Joe Nuttall previewed Tuesday night's away game against Altrincham in a pre-match interview with Iron Player.

The frontman began by reflecting on the last few weeks, saying: “It’s been strange, obviously with the previous manager leaving, and the new guys coming in and taking charge. I think they’ve done a great job of the getting the lads on side, which I imagine is a difficult job considering the start to the season that we’ve had.

“The training has been good, it’s been intense and it’s been fun, and we’re looking forward to playing more games under the new management.” 

Nuttall spoke further about Tony Daws and Michael Nelson, adding: “I think that getting the boys on side, and getting them to buy into their message, and philosophy of how they want to play was the priority. I think they wanted to just steady the ship, and make it fun and enjoyable, and make it easier to build for the future."

On the past week's training, he said: “It’s been good. Training has been fun, the messages on how they want us to play, and what they want us to do going into games are clear. It’s been a positive start, and I’m looking forward to it.” 

The weekends game was cancelled due to the passing of the late Queen Elizabeth II, and Nuttall spoke about how the decision affected him: “It’s disappointing not to play games, but it’s for a good reason, and it’s the right thing to do.

“It has given us an extra week to get familiar with the coaching staff, and for them to get familiar with us. It’s also given us a good week of preparation for the game on Tuesday night.” 

On the opponents, the striker said: “It’s going to be tough, all games are tough in this league, and we’ve seen that in the start of the season. We just have to focus on ourselves, believe in the message from the coaching staff, and just believe in each other and give it a really good go."

Nuttall spoke about the importance of the upcoming fixtures, adding: “We have to take every game as it comes, no matter who we’re playing against, and just play our own game. I think the results recently have been difficult to take, and in terms of performances I don’t think we’ve been a million miles away. If we tweak a few bits, and make it better, then we can start to pick up points.” 

The Iron’s number nine reflected on the team's performances so far, saying: “I think if you look at all the games we’ve played, we’ve created chances, but we haven’t been clinical. If we can shut up shop in the defence, and continue making those chances then I think we have a really good team that can put a performance together and win games.”

United have recently signed Issac Fletcher, Rob Apter and Aiden Marsh on loan, and the number nine spoke about how they can help the team, stating: “He [Aiden Marsh] is going to bring quality. From what we’ve seen in training so far, he’s lively, he likes to get on the ball, he’s very direct, and very attacking.”

“There’s obviously Rob Apter as well who has been around for a few weeks now, but he’s very direct and a very good player. They’re going to be a threat in the attacking third. An injection of pace, creativity, goals from other departments of the pitch, and excitement on the pitch is what we need.”