Defender Will Evans is aiming for a response tomorrow afternoon when the Iron host Rushall Olympic at the Attis Arena, with the 32-year-old targeting a build-up of momentum in the coming weeks.
Reflecting on the midweek slender loss in the top of the table clash against Tamworth, the former Boreham Wood defender gave his thoughts on the game a handful of days ago: “We’re hugely disappointed. We’ve just got to take it as it is, build momentum again, and put pressure on them in any way we possibly can. Hopefully we can get maximum points from our next games, and keep building that tally, and see how they can handle the pressure from now.
“If we win our games in hand, they’ve got a six point gap. It’s a nice tally from their point of view, but if we win those games in hand, it puts us right back in. There are still a lot of points to be played for. We clawed back points from them before, and I’m sure we can do it again.
“Take nothing away from them, they’re up there for a reason. They’re well drilled and well organised. They’re going to be relentless in what they do. We just have to focus on what we’re doing, and that focus is to get maximum points whenever we can.
“On the pitch, we need to be a bit braver. I thought we played well in patches, but need to be a bit more consistent with it on game day. The pressure is completely off us now, I believe. I feel like we can still win the league. We can completely fully believe that, and we've just got to focus on that.”
Despite the disappointing result in midweek, and since the turn of the year which has seen just one win in four, Evans alluded to the side’s strong defensive record with 10 clean sheets in the last 16 encounters.
“We conceded two against Boston; disappointed. Two at Brackley; disappointed, and obviously even on Tuesday night, it was a sloppy goal,” he continued.
“No one has carved us open - I think that's the most frustrating thing. No one's played really well and opened us up. We can still be positive, because we’ve been very good defensively on the whole throughout the season.”
The United defender reflected briefly on the reverse fixture back in August, which turned out to be a convincing 3-0 win at the Pics’ home venue.
“We played very well,” he stated.
“I remember the game - we started off quite sloppy. We were getting used to the surroundings and the 3G pitch. We controlled the game from the first goal onwards. It was quite a standout performance from everyone.”
With the highest attendance of the season to date in midweek, and over 5,000 home fans in attendance for the second time this campaign, Evans urged fans to keep supporting the club in these important weeks and months ahead.
“It’s a positive for the club because that’s what the club needs, it’s what we need as players,” he added.
“We need the push and the noise. We’ve been away to some places, at this level, where the home support is quiet, but here it’s great, and that’s a credit to everyone involved at the club to bring the belief back. It’s brought the players’ belief back, and everyone behind the scenes. Everyone needs to take credit for that as a collective.”