Danny Schofield is determined for Rovers to build strong home form as they return to action at the Eco-Power Stadium this weekend.
Rovers collected back-to-back wins over Rochdale and Carlisle United in their last home outings and will be looking to extend the run of victories as Tranmere Rovers visit on Saturday.
Schofield on facing Tranmere:
“I’m excited for the game. I felt we reflected on the last one really well. We knew where we came unstuck and what we needed to improve on and we’ve implemented that over the last few training sessions, with and without the ball to certainly be more competitive and put us in a better chance of winning the football game.
“I hope it’s a very different game from the last one but I know Tranmere have been very consistent in the way they’ve been playing. They’ll be similar in the way they approach the game.”
On building home form:
“Home form is very important - putting on performances and having the supporters really drive us forward. We’ve proven now we can deliver back-to-back wins which is massive in football and it’ll be our aim to continue that.”
On the frustrations of another postponed fixture
“We did a session at the hotel, making the best use we could of the facilities in the gym there. Then we’ve had a full week of training to prepare for Tranmere.
“It’s been a little bit stop-start with the games for us. We’ve got to deal with that and get as much training into the players as we can to prepare them for the next game. It’s been a bit frustrating.
“We prepared right up until Saturday for the game so everything was geared towards Crawley - the analysis of the opposition, how we prepared to play against them and the loading training, which was catered for a 90 minute game. It’s very difficult to reflect on that because you didn’t play the game so you just have to move onto the next one.
“It’s a challenge but one I think we’re dealing with quite well. But we’re just eager to play games. We want to play football games because that’s what we train for.”
On the health of the squad:
“We’re pretty good at the minute. Joseph Olowu has been back on the training pitch this weekend for full contact training. Bobby Faulkner is back to non-contact training.
“Tom Anderson was having an issue with his groin but he had a scan on that the other day and there was no tear. It showed a slight bit of muscle tissue damage but he’d have been available for Crawley.
“With Tommy Rowe, at the end of the month we should have him back on the training pitch. We’re being a little bit cautious with his back. I sat with him and asked how we cater his training to make sure he’s available for the last 20 games of the season. It’s going to be very individualised for Tommy to make sure he’s available.”
On the three additions to his squad:
“I’m really excited by the three signings we’ve made so far - Todd Miller in terms of the attacking capabilities, we feels as though James Brown can add a real attacking threat down the right and compete with Charlie Seaman for a starting place, and Ben Nelson is a young player with a lot of noise around him about one day being a top Premier League player. He has the potential.
“These players will come in and develop under us but hopefully make a real impact quickly. The early signs are good. They’ve only trained for a few days but the signs are positive.
“What we’re looking for all the time is competition for places. It’s something I’m really big on. I feel if you’ve almost got two players for every position competing for the starting berth, it’s really healthy. We feel as though these signings can do that.
“James and Ben have been playing EFL football and they’re probably match fit and ready to go. Todd had a bit of a spell over Christmas where he didn’t train so much. He’s had the odd U21 game at Brighton. All three are showing good physical levels in training and their physical data from their clubs is really positive.”
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