Head coach Scott Brown spoke to the press after his side were held to a goalless draw against Cheltenham Town at Highbury on Tuesday evening.
In what was a feisty affair on the Fylde Coast, it ended a point apiece as neither side was able to break the deadlock, even after gilt-edged chances for both teams.
Here’s what the gaffer had to say in his post-match interview:
On the overall performance this evening…
“I thought we created a few chances, especially late on. We looked like the fitter team at the end of the game and for me, that’s a positive and the lads battled well. We went a little bit more direct than what I would’ve liked to have, but, as I say, I’m proud of the lads and their fighting spirit, their desire to come back and even late on as well.
“I’m quite pleased with the lads, their attitude, their willingness to go and win second balls because we know they’re a physical, strong team and we stuck up for ourselves but for me, it was more about showing their attitude and their willingness and their desire, and they had that willingness and fighting spirit for each other.”
“We rode our luck a little bit in the first half, then again, we could’ve scored a couple of goals late on. But for me, as I say the lads have worked hard and it’s been a hard week for them, they’ve got a day off tomorrow and then we go again on Saturday.”
A general view on tonight’s draw…
“You need the big decisions to go for you sometimes, they didn’t go for us today which is part of the game but, at the same time, we still managed to try and play. We defended well on set plays, and I thought we looked the stronger team in the last five minutes of the game.
“I thought today the referee got the big decisions wrong. I think there’s definitely a penalty in the second half and for me in the first half when Callum Morton goes through, I think they’ve got that decision wrong as well. I think overall the referee had a bad game and that’s what it came down to.
“At the end of the day, I think we could’ve created a couple more chances and if the referee managed to get that decision right in the first half, it would’ve been 11 men against 10. It’s big decisions on that day that make or break us but today it wasn’t meant to be.”
On being stern at the back and changing around personnel…
“I was happy with the clean sheet; it was a thing we looked to improve on from last season, I think we conceded 85 or 86 goals so, for me, that’s not good enough. Through pre-season, we’ve done a lot of work on defensive shape structure behind the ball with our attackers on the other side of the drills and, hopefully, it pays off.
“We need to make sure that we continue to keep doing that and all the lads have been brilliant at it, even the ones who have come in. Harvey [Macadam] did really well today and we had big Promise [Omochere] back as well who looks a handful.
“We are always going to chop and change the squad because it’s a long season and that means there will be opportunities for every single player in there so they need to make sure they work hard and perform in training to make sure they can get into some games.”
On Mendes Gomes and his substitution…
“Carlos [Mendes Gomes] should bring some composure on the ball and he’s someone who both creates and scores goals as well. It’s what we were looking for in a winger and we were lucky enough to bring him to the club.
“I think it’s just a tight hamstring which he felt, and we caught it early which is a great thing for us, but he could be out for a couple of weeks for us. We’ll take that on the chin but, for us, it’s about him getting up to speed and getting an understanding of our game plan.”