Tuesday night’s 3-2 loss to Sutton United was a difficult result to take for the team and the Yellow Army. When United looked set for a valuable point, a last-minute penalty provided Sutton with all three. United are without a game until next Saturday’s home match against AFC Fylde (03/03/18 | KO 3pm). We spoke to captain Sean McGinty about the way ahead in United’s battle to stay in the National League.
“We started the game slowly,” said McGinty about Tuesday’s match.
“We conceded an early goal and that was frustrating because I think that gave them a lift and a bit of hope. Luckily we got back into the game and made it 1-1. I think there was a bit of controversy about that but we’ll take whatever is given to us.
“We went into the lead and we thought we were getting a foothold in the game but we conceded at a terrible time just before the end of the first half. If we had gone into the break in the lead then the half-time team talk is a little different.
“We’re really frustrated that we went on to lose the game. We have time to pick ourselves up. There are still plenty of games and points to play for.”
‘Gints’ is very clear about what it will take to earn the points needed for survival. The recent wins against Barrow and Maidenhead still provide hope that United can stay in the hunt.
“It will take a lot of hard work. Against Dagenham we were off the pace and second to the ball all over the pitch and on Tuesday night we were much better. The manner of the goals we have conceded haven’t been good enough. I think that’s one of the reasons we’re in the position we’re in. We’ve been making silly errors and conceding silly goals. Collectively as a unit we have to cut out the silly mistakes.”
United will be going all out against AFC Fylde on March 3 at Plainmoor. After that come fixtures against teams in and around the relegation zone. These matches are fundamental to the club’s hopes of staying up.
“We’re close to playing a lot of the teams around us in the table but every game is a different challenge. If we can pick up points against these teams then there’s still everything to play for. I think it is going to be very tight this year. In previous years it has been 50 points [to avoid relegation] but I think it could be less. We have to collect as many points as we can and hope it will be enough.”
The Yellow Army has once again been through a very difficult and testing season supporting the team. United need one last push in the remaining games this season.
“The fans are going to be very frustrated. We haven’t performed as well as we should do. We haven’t got the points that some of our performances have warranted but we’ve conceded silly goals at the end of games. I ask them to stick with us because we are trying. I assure them that we’ll never give up and that we’re giving 100%. We’re all desperate to get out of this situation and I believe that we have enough to get out of it. We need the fans more than ever.
“At the moment we’re nine points adrift plus goal difference with 11 games to play. If you look at teams in the recent past like Hartlepool a couple of years ago and Newport last season – they never gave up. The fans stuck by them and they eventually got out of trouble. Some of the fans may have lost faith but I can tell you for sure that myself, the head coach, and the players, won’t give up until we know we can’t do any more. At the moment it is still all to play for and let’s see where we are in a few weeks time.”