Stanley will not be camera shy
ACCRINGTON Stanley defender Mark Hughes feels playing in front of the TV cameras will give his side a huge motivational boost when they take on league leaders Ipswich Town this weekend. The match is live on Sky on Sunday, with kick-off at noon.
Stanley are in 20th place in the League One table ahead of the game, two points above the relegation zone, while Ipswich are four points clear at the top, having gone unbeaten in their 11 games so far this season.
Accrington are seen as big underdogs in the fixture, but Hughes is backing his side to pull off the upset against a rejuvenated Ipswich side.
“They will be a different team this year, they were a team used to getting beat last year whereas this year they haven’t lost a game,” he told the club’s official website. “It’s like any player, with confidence, you feel quicker, you feel stronger and they will be coming here full of confidence. It’s tough winning league games and they haven’t lost a league game all season so they are a good team and they are consistent, they have good players and we will have to be on our toes.
“But we do tend to do quite well against the socalled bigger teams and hopefully it will be a good atmosphere and we will get the crowd going, get them behind us which is what we will need.
“Having the cameras here adds a bit extra to the occasion. You don’t have many chances to be on TV in the lower leagues so it’s important to show everyone how we can play.”
Stanley look set to come up against one of their former players in the match, with striker Kayden Jackson currently playing for Ipswich.
He joined Ipswich from Stanley last summer for a reported £1 million, and while Hughes is glad to see him having success, he hopes that isn’t the case on Sunday.
“Kayden wanted to move on to play at a higher level and it probably took him a few months to settle down but you can see this season he has hit the ground running,” he said.
“He is playing well, he is a quick lad, he will get chances in this league through his sheer pace and he is playing with good players.”
The Reds head into the match on the back of a defeat, after they were beaten 2-1 away from home against Rochdale on Saturday. Two goals from Ian Henderson earned Rochdale the win at the Crown Oil Arena, despite a strike for Accrington from Joe Pritchard.
Ipswich’s last game came a fortnight ago, defeating Fleetwood Town 1-0 away from home to make it four straight victories.