Scunthorpe United FC

Tom Pugh has spoken about Tuesday's narrow defeat in Wales and looked ahead to the away trip to take on Boreham Wood in the Vanarama National League this Saturday.

The Iron midfielder started by reflecting on the team’s performance in recent weeks, saying: “I feel like we put in a real team performance against Dagenham, especially after going 1-0 down but then coming back to win the game. As a team we should have done better not to concede that late goal but it was three points at the end of the day.” 

He continued: “Then to go to Wrexham, who haven’t lost at home all season, and put in a performance like that, only losing by two penalties. I think we deserved more from the game but the lads put up a great performance. We just have to keep our heads high and go again on Saturday. We had our chances, we had plenty of shots on target, but you have to be clinical especially against good teams as they’ll punish you.” 

Pugh almost hit the back of the net against Wrexham, hitting the post with an early second-half effort, and he spoke about how important that would have been. He said: “I’m due one. I’m just going to keep trying and hopefully my luck will come soon.”

The team has seen a lot of changes in recent weeks with many new faces in the dressing room, and Tom spoke about how the new lads have settled in, saying: “They’ve tried to fit in well. We’ve been training with them and getting to know them but they seem like a great bunch of lads. With lots of players coming in, you don’t know if you’ll gel straight away, but we went straight out to Dagenham, got those three points and put in a good performance. We will see if we can get that run of wins going.”

On Saturday's fixture, Pugh commented: “If we can put the last two performances into Saturday then I think we can get those three points that we need. It’ll be a tough game as it’s away from home and a long travel, but we’ve been training as well as playing the game in midweek. I feel fresh and I’m sure the lads will be up for the fight. We’re all more than determined to get them three points because we need them.”

The Iron are looking to get out of the relegation zone, but Tom has confidence that the team can do it, saying: “It only takes a few wins and you’re out of it. With the games coming on Saturdays and Tuesdays it can help us and we could be out by next weekend."

See much more from Tom Pugh and Jimmy Dean on Iron Player.