Travelling Right

...but John Sheridan believes that their continued good performances will eventually bring wins on their travels.

The Pilgrims’ Sky Bet League 2 away days this season have so far produced two wins, two draws and five defeats, with the 500-mile round-trip to Northampton being the next port of call for the Pilgrims. 

The Greens also lost 3-0 in their last away fixture against Sheffield United, in the FA Cup, but the manager does not believe that some of the results match his side’s performances on the road. 

“I feel as if we are doing a lot of things right, even in the game last week,” said John, “and even though you see the stats after that say we had one shot, I do not care. We played alright against the favourites in the league above, and we competed very well against them for an hour.”

The game turned on a penalty-miss by Reuben Reid, rapidly followed by two successful spot-kicks from United.

 

“If we would have got the penalty, it would have been a totally different game,” said John, “but it did not turn out that way. It was a killer punch: we miss a penalty then they go up and get two penalties in quick succession. 

“It hit us hard, and we did not react the way I would have liked.”

Football is a results industry, of course, but John has taken great heart from his team’s performance of late.

“It is a concern because I like to win games, but everyone else is making a big thing out of it,” he said. “I think we have played alright away from home; I just do not think we got the results we deserved. I can look back at few games where we should have got more, but we did not, so I have just got to stay focused. 

“When you are losing games, everyone looks at things. I do not listen; I just keep concentrating. If I do my job properly, we will be successful; if I do not, I have said before that you pay the consequences. 

“I think we are playing alright. I have got a really good group of lads, and they all want to do well.”

That desire gives John faith in the ability in his squad to convert those good performances into results, but he also knows how much luck can play a part..

“A lot of the things we are doing, we are doing quite well at the moment,” he said. “We are just not getting a break sometimes, when you need it. 

“Our home form has been good, and we just need to pick up, results-wise, and score goals away from home. We should have got a draw at Mansfield, and we should have beaten York, so that is three points that we have just let go.

“If we’d got those three points we would be right in the mix, closer to the teams at the top.”