RELEGATION BATTLE ‘GOING DOWN TO WIRE’
THE MANAGERS IN THE RELEGATION BATTLE HAVE THEIR SAY AS WE REACH THE BUSINESS END OF THE SEASON
AS we reach the business end of the League Two season, the relegation battle is far from over – and Grimsby Town are still clinging on to their survival hopes.
The Mariners missed the chance to make up some serious ground on Barrow at the weekend as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Walsall, who are also not quite out of the woods yet.
With Port Vale picking up another victory at the weekend, the battle at the bottom of the table looks to have been whittled down to five teams now.
Town and Southend currently occupy the relegation zone, and sit six and three points away from safety respectively, with the Mariners holding a game in hand.
They’ll both be looking above them and hoping to catch Barrow, Colchester United and Walsall as the fight to remain in the EFL heats up.
Here’s what the managers of all five of the sides involved had to say about the relegation battle at the weekend…
BRIAN DUTTON - WALSALL
The Walsall boss remains without a win from his 11 games in charge, and his side now sit just six points above the relegation zone after the draw at Blundell Park – but Dutton feels his side have done enough to secure safety. “Grimsby and Southend have to do something pretty phenomenal between now and the end of the season to overtake us,” Dutton said.
“That was the main objective, to keep the wolves from the door, and that’s what we’ve done. It leaves Grimsby and Southend in the same situation.
“They’re six points behind with us having a game in hand. It’s a tough ask for them but all we can do is concentrate on ourselves.”
WAYNE BROWN – COLCHESTER UNITED
The U’s have been dropping like a stone for some time now, and after their defeat to Bradford City, they sit just four points above the drop zone.
“If I start worrying about other results, other fixtures and other teams then we’re bang in trouble,” Brown said.
“All we can do is work as hard as we can, and we’ve been working very hard with the group. We can keep being positive, we can keep emphasising how well we’ve done in periods of games, the chances we’re creating, and they will go in the back of the net.
“We can’t worry about what’s happening around us. If we concentrate on what we’re doing, and we keep being positive around the group, we keep creating, then the results will look after themselves.”
ROB KELLY – BARROW
The Bluebirds looked to be charging towards safety after four straight wins dragged them out of the bottom two, but after back-to-back defeats to the Mariners and Stevenage, they’re still firmly in danger.
“I think we’ve become harder to play against, which is really important when you’re down in a relegation scrap,” Kelly said.
“I keep saying it’s a simple game. We’ll look at the next one, and think how it’s best for us to get a result.
“We’re going to need everything. We’re going to need good defence, good attack and good midfield, good on set-plays and good against set-plays. I’ve said that right from the start. It’s going to go to the wire.”
MARK MOLESLEY – SOUTHEND UNITED
Things were looking bleak for the Shrimpers before the weekend as Town crept up on them following their win at Barrow – but victory at Harrogate at the weekend has brought them back into contention.
“We will always make sure we bring our best game on the pitch on the day,” Molesley said. “Sometimes you have to block out the noise and not get too far ahead of ourselves. “You’ve got to focus on what’s in front of you
and make sure you tackle that fully. It’s a big challenge we’re facing but you can’t let it swallow you, you have to run towards it and embrace that.”
PAUL HURST – GRIMSBY TOWN
The Mariners are on a six-game unbeaten run, but they face a huge task to overturn their sixpoint deficit, and the draw with Walsall proved to be a big opportunity missed.
“I was looking at some stats, but the important one is where we are – 100 per cent, we can’t dispute that,” Hurst said.
“But there are lots of things that are pointing in the right direction, hence the unbeaten run that we’ve been on. With regards to Southend, full credit to them. They’ll have people in their sights, but I’ve said we’ve got to finish above Southend. As it stands, we’ve got a game in hand and would go above them with goal difference. You’d prefer them to have lost, but I’m not too worried.
“Probably the ones above that are the ones I’m more pleased about and looking at. Walsall were obviously one of those teams, and I think in a lot of ways they’ll have been pleased to have got a point. They’re still on a run that they’ll want to improve on to make sure they’re not involved in mix-up at the death. “We’ve got to keep putting that pressure on as much as possible, starting with two extremely tough games, but the players are on the right track, and we’ve just got to try and freshen them up as best we can.”