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number two to Stewart. Broadhead at Charlton, especially for someone who had been out for three months, still looked sharp.
BENNO
A win against Shrewsbury changes the outlook going into the Plymouth game. All of a sudden, its flipped, because Plymouth then have to
win. We can go there and think a draw for us
is good and a point for Plymouth might not be good enough. Take each game as they come but games like Gillingham, Shrewsbury we should win, Oxford maybe a draw. That’s seven points, that’s good. We don’t have to win seven out of eight, looking at the next three, seven points means you’re on the right path.
PLYMOUTH
BARNES
We’ve got a good record at Plymouth, I’m a big believer in that. We’ve always done well there in the last three or so years when they’ve been in this league, we go there, do well there and win there. I just think it’s almost a feel-good ground for Sunderland, I don’t know why, but the flip side of it is Fleetwood always do well
at our ground and they seemed to have that sort of hoodoo over Sunderland. In the last few seasons, I think playing on the Friday would have impacted us and we would’ve looked tired. Now Neil’s taken the players out who needed a rest, I’m not so concerned about that side of it. O’Nien, Pritchard, Broadhead and Doyle have had rests (albeit a couple of them have been injured) but they’re coming back in now at the right time. The issue of two games in four days isn’t so bad, I suspect they’ll fly down to Plymouth as we did last time which negates the travel part of it. I’d also think now you get to Plymouth; the adrenaline kicks in at the nub end of the season.
BARNES
I’m fairly relaxed about Cambridge, which is a bad thing to say but I mean no disrespect to them. But at home, at the Abbey Stadium,
Sunderland played well. That day, in the weather conditions, they actually ground it out and
the planning from set pieces was meticulous. Both teams were trying to score from corners. Sunderland’s game plan was excellent, and they stood up to Cambridge’s physicality very well. Where they are in the table, their season will be effectively over by then so I would have no major concerns.
BENNO
The most important thing is probably those first and second games and then the momentum should take you into the Cambridge game with confidence. If you don’t get the results, then confidence is low and that’s crucial. For me, confidence is number one. Looking back at the Lincoln game, you think wow, we play like that were going to win more games than we lose. Can we produce that performance consistently, each game? If we can, then we will win. Confidence, combined with clean sheets mean that you want to play the next game, then the next game.
But if we are struggling by the time we get to Cambridge, blowing hot and cold, then you’re thinking we don’t know which Sunderland is going to turn up we won’t know which way it’s going to go.
ROTHERHAM
BARNES
By then, we’ll have a pretty clear idea of what we need to do. We need to be mindful that if you’re going to go into the play-offs, you need some kind of momentum beforehand. The Rotherham game is important on several levels, and we owe them one for the reverse fixture earlier in the season. They’re physical and quick, but they might be
CAMBRIDGE
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