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DARREN PURSE: Great positives to be taken from our cracking 5-0 win
At the end of the game on Saturday, a pleasing 5-0 away win against Hartlepool, the lads were not too happy with me; but it wasn't entirely my fault.
Yes I managed to delay the team bus from leaving by about an hour, but I will take the reason for it as a positive, if you will excuse the pun.
I was drug tested at the end of the match – something every player has to do about two or three times in the year - and I think this must mean that I am officially playing better than I was last season, as there is no way I would have been checked last year at this stage with the form I was showing then.
Anyway back to the game at the weekend and what a great result for us. For me though it was not just about the winning margin, 5-0, but the most satisfying thing for me was that we were clinical with it.
At 3-0 up at half-time it would have been easy to concede a goal and then suddenly before you know it the pressure is back on. But we stuck to it and scoring two more goals in the second half really showed how well we played. And it was a result away from home which is always an added bonus.
Right now we are sitting top of the league which is obviously where we want to be. I don't see that as a pressure, our ambition at the beginning of the season was to go up, and so far so good.
There is of course still such a long way to go and it is not a good idea to look in to anything just yet, but we have won three out of four games and are unbeaten in the league, so we can't ask for more than that at this stage.
Missing the mid-week Carling Cup game last Tuesday was a big disappointment. My calf was feeling a bit tight, and in the morning of the game the coach and the physio said to me to it was best not to risk it at this early stage, and I think in the end it was the right decision. If you push it too hard this early on you risk turning it in to a tear and that then means potentially three or four weeks out.
It was not a great result for us. We want to do well in every competition we play in, and when you look at the fact that Scunthorpe have Man United in the next round you see what a shame it was.
But if you had asked me if I would rather take the Carling Cup win or 5-0 in the League, I'd take the league win any day; as our aim at the start of the season was to get promoted and that comes above everything.
The injury has pretty much cleared up now, so I think it was the right call in the end. It felt a bit tight at the end of the game, but that was more fatigue than anything. The important thing now is rest and preparation for Notts County tomorrow who will be a tough team and full of confidence after coming back from 3-0 down against Bournemouth at the weekend.
We need to look out for Lee Hughes who I played with at WBA and is playing well at the moment. The Johnstone's Paint Trophy is a competition some clubs are not taking seriously, but the gaffer wants to focus hard on it, so getting a result is crucial.
Got a view? Leave a comment below.
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Friday 10 February 2012
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