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Ahead of this afternoon’s clash with MK Dons, here are the best bits from Ian Evatt’s press conference.
Will Ricardo Santos be available for Saturday’s game?
“Rico is back in today, which is positive. He’s had a couple of sleepless night but other than that, he’s back in with a big smile on his face.
“It’s great to have him back and fully ready for Saturday. I think the world of Rico.
“I think he’s a huge, huge part of what we’re doing here, not just for the here and now but for the future as well.”
What are you expecting from Liam Manning’s men?
“I think it’s going to be a good game, a challenging game. I think it’s going to be a real technical game and tactical battle.
“We might not have the majority of the ball, we might have to play a slightly different style and play a little bit on transitions and counter-attacks.
“But one thing we’ve got in the team right now is serious pace and energy. I’ve said many times, speed kills defences, I don’t care who you are, what level you play at.
“Speed hurts you as a defender and we’ve got that in abundance, so we’ll try to utilise that as best we can in the key moments.
“And if we can take our chances as we have been doing, we’ve got a real chance of winning the game.”
Marlon Fossey and Declan John have played a lot of football this month…
“I just think they’ve done so well that it’s hard to take them out. During the run, I think we have seen a drop off with their performances on Tuesday nights.
“If you go back through all the fixtures we’ve had on Tuesdays – Burton, Cambridge to some extent – there has been a bit of a drop off because it is so difficult.
“I think their best games have been on Saturdays when they’ve had a bit of a longer break. It’s a tough position to play because we expect so much of them.
“They are attackers but they also have some responsibility to defend as well. They’re two excellent athletes, two very good players.
“Hopefully, we can keep them in one piece and get their energy levels back up and ready to go on Saturday.”
How pleasing is it to see your side having success from set-pieces in recent weeks?
“It is really nice that we have started to score goals from set pieces. There will be two teams on Saturday that aren’t exactly known for them but, in terms of their open play, I was looking at a lot of the league data this morning and I think we’re top for open play goals this season, which is good.
“If we can add those set-play goals, it’s another strIng to our bow. That’s what we need to try and do, mix it up.
“I said to the players on our post-match analysis video that we do, I’m nitpicking and being a bit choosy with what I say to them but that could be the difference – one set-play where one player isn’t doing their job could be the difference of getting in the play-offs or not.
“It could be the difference of winning a game or not. In key moments, they have to give it the importance it deserves and make sure when we give them roles and responsibilities, they do it.
“If they don’t, they’ll be held accountable and that is just the way it is.”
Kieran Sadlier played as a wing-back on Tuesday night. How important is it to have versatile players like him?
“Kieran can do that. He can play left wing-back, right wing-back, number 10 and number nine in this system, and in the other system he can play wide forward, nine, 10, possibly eight if needs be.
“That was one of the reasons why we wanted him so much because we knew he could give us that flexibility and he came on and did a great job. He did exactly what we wanted him to do.
“First half, I thought our wing-backs were a little bit safe with their movements and the first real sign of fatigue from them both I think.
“Second half, Kieran came on and changed that dynamic, as did Kyle (Dempsey) and Amadou (Bakayoko), so we’ve got some firepower off the bench now and it might be the bench that wins us games.
“We have to make sure we’re in games and giving ourselves a chance and at the moment we’re doing that.”
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