Head coach Scott Brown sat down with the press on Thursday afternoon at Poolfoot Farm and previewed his side’s upcoming league clash against Burton Albion.
The Cods will be looking to go one better than their last outing, which ended in a 1-1 draw against high-flying Sheffield Wednesday in the Emirates FA Cup Fourth Round – Promise Omochere scored Town’s goal in that one earning the side a replay at Highbury next Tuesday.
Here’s what the gaffer had to say in his interview:
On a full February schedule and Saturday's opposition...
“Burton have brought in a lot of players recently and have a big squad full of energetic, quality players so we’ve got to match their energy - they got a good result last week, so they’ll be in high spirits. It’s a packed month for us, but I loved times like these as a player and so do the players – it’s probably because they hear less of my voice due to having less training!
“Our home form hasn’t been great; we’ve played some good football but sometimes that doesn’t mean you pick up the points you deserve, we need to make sure we get three points and start building on that as well because it’s an important game for us. Last season, and the start of this season, home wins weren’t great, so we’ve managed to get two strikers in to help us kick on.”
On the January transfer dealings…
“We were always looking for strikers in the window and we managed to get two in the building and a centre-half, which is fantastic for us. The squad is looking a lot stronger, there were players who didn’t want to be here so, for me, if they are out of the team and feel that way, it’s time for them to move on as we want people who enjoy coming into work.
“The players have to want to be part of a team and a community, and I think that’s what we’ve got here in the building. We wish all the lads who have moved on to other clubs all the best and have to say that we parted company with them all well and ended each one on good terms. Moves are sometimes good for them as they can have a fresh start and work towards new challenges.
“Looking at Corrie [Ndaba], he went out to Salford last season and that’s where a few of the lads and coaching staff know him from so it’s good to get background checks from them and Toto [Nsiala] who knows him from Ipswich. You want to have lads who want to be here, and it helps that he’s got pace, a lovely left foot, and he probably needs a bit of loving to become consistent.”
On the new striking duo in Marriott and Stockley…
“It was huge for us to get in players who know the level; we’ve not had a natural goal scorer for a while here and we’ve managed to bring in two this window. Jayden [Stockley] has the size, the aerial ability, and is a good character around the dressing room, and Jack [Marriott] wants to score goals by running off the shoulder – they should work well together.”
“They’ve both had fantastic careers; Jack and Jayden have played in the Championship, and Jayden has also been above the border and up into Scotland, so it was important that we brought in that experience and quality. We can already see in training that the standards have gone up and that’s what we wanted. They’ve good, honest players who know where the back of the net is.”