DK: Got there in the end?
KH: Yeah, it wasn't the spectacle that probably everyone wanted to see. They probably see top V near bottom, thinking it was going to be a goal fest. It just didn't turn out that way. It was a little bit slow from us. We'd obviously scored early on and whether that contributed us playing a little bit slower and keeping the ball, possibly. I sensed that against a run of play, there could be a goal against. That happened and obviously then you start thinking, how are we going to get across the line? I said to them many times that if we are going to achieve anything, it is the squad. I thought the substitutes come on and added a little bit of spark. Obviously, Ingers has hit the post and then Jamie has followed up, so the two subs were involved in it.
We win the game, which is all that matters. It wasn't a great game by any means. It's not a game you'll watch back. It wasn't a game that got everyone off the edge of their seats and excited. It's another three points to our total, so we keep pushing and see how big a total we can get and see where it takes us.
DK: Do you think the goal in the first minute hindered us slightly?
KH: I don't know. We're not always going to play scintillating football. We're not always going to blow teams away like we did to Leiston. There's going to be moments and bumps in the road where you have to deal with it. You have to come up with a solution. You have to come up with an answer and have to find a way to win. Today was one of those games. They're fighting for their lives. They're scrapping at the bottom and want to try and stay up if they possibly can. It made it a tough afternoon for us. We were below par. There's no doubt about that, but three points is all that matters. That's all we come for. That's all we ask for and that's what we got. We'll take it and move on.
DK: Overall, though, a good team performance?
KH: It was okay. I don't think we ever looked under pressure, really. Obviously, the goal was a mistake and that's what happens when you have long periods of possession. You can sometimes lose a little bit of concentration at the back, which we don't normally do.
I think I've said many a time, Marco and back four have been the foundations which we've built our season on, where we've been able to go on and win games because we're so tight at the back. It was a little bit of a mistake. Obviously, it gives them a sniff. This group don't know when they'll beat. They keep going to the very end. The substitutions were really important for us. We've got players like we've got coming on to the pitch. Late on stages always gives you a chance. It was a great goal, actually. It was a good cross. Obviously, a header. The keeper's made a save. All I know is Jamie was there, nice and lively, in the six-yard box to poke it home and get us the three points. That's a bigger win as any other win. It's as big as the Leiston one on a Tuesday night.
There's bigger games to come.
DK: Like you say, all that's important is that we've now made it four straight wins.
KH: Yes, we want to keep that going as long as possible.
Obviously, we've got tough games coming up. We have a little break now. We've got the Premier Cup, which will enable me to rotate it slightly. Obviously, a big one next week away at Leamington.
DK: Patch was back with the 23s today?
KH: Yes. I don't know how he's got on as such, but he's obviously showing real good signs of recovery from his injury. This is his next step. Hopefully, he comes through that unscathed and then we'll see where he's at.
DK: Moving on to Tuesday, it'll be a much different test for us.
KH: Yes. Obviously, we're going to be coming up against young players with bags of potential, bags of ability. So, we'll have to be right on it, and obviously, we're defending the Premier Cup, which we really enjoy playing and we enjoy winning. It's three years on the spin now. We want to make it four. So, I'll pick a team. Obviously, we will rotate a little bit, but I'll pick a team that hopefully can deal with the young Ipswich players and progress into the final.
DK: Will you approach it a little bit differently?
KH: Not really. Every game I play, and Tom's the same, obviously, we want to win. We want to win every game we play. So, I suppose approach it differently, maybe make changes and rotate it a little bit more than I probably would if it was a league game, but that's only really to give lads minutes and get them ready for the last bit of the season. We want lads all firing on all cylinders because the games are running out, but there's some massive important games from now until the end of the season. So, we want to progress on Tuesday and get to the final and go on to win it again.
But in the same breath, I want to give lads minutes in their legs, which make them available for the league games that are going to be coming up as well.
DK: Will Nico and Manny will be eligible for us Tuesday?
KH: No, Nico and Manny won't play in that game. Obviously, their parent club is Ipswich, so they won't be featuring in that game for us or them. So, that leaves us a little bit short, but it means lads that probably haven't started last few can come in and start and shuffle it about and see if we can get through the game with no injuries, but more importantly, get through the game by winning and into the final.
DK: Where does that leave us with Hugh and Ollie then?
KH: No, Hugh's on loan, so Hugh's out on loan, so he's not able to be called back. Ollie could potentially be used, but I'll have to see what injuries we've got and knocks we've got from today before I'm out the corner.
I don't envisage myself calling Ollie back to play.
Tommy Smith gives his thoughts on yesterday's win.
DK: Must be pleased to get another three points on the board?
TS: Yeah, at this point in the season, that's really the main thing. Obviously, if you can play well, that helps, but the main thing is the three points. So I was pleased with it.
DK: Had to dig in a bit, but got there in the end.
TS: Yeah, we had to dig in deep. I thought we dominated the whole game, to be honest with you, but the game's going to be tough now. You've got to really just dig deep and that's what we did today.
DK: Sometimes you're going to need to do that, so it's important to be able to.
TS: Exactly, but I think we've been doing that all season. I don't think we've been dominated at all all season, apart from the first game. So I think we're more than capable of winning this game, even though they scored the goal.
DK: Sometimes you can think in that moment, oh, it's not going to go for us, but you're pretty confident that it would.
TS: Yeah, obviously, when a goal goes in against you and it's not too long left, you're always thinking we could drop points here. But this team, all season long, has found a way. Whether that's been scrappy goals, screamers, there's always a way of us scoring a goal.
DK: It must be pleasing to be part of a team that's quite solid and racking up points.
TS: Yeah, I think the majority of the season we've won games by the odd goal, by one nil, two nil. And that's always good as a defensive unit to keep clean sheets. Obviously, it wasn't the case today, but we still have limited them to very few chances. And we managed to put two past them, so that's good.
DK: And the goal coming within the first minute, it's not something we normally get.
TS: No, we haven't actually had too many early goals this season, but it was a perfect start. Obviously, that would make them have to come out a little bit more, obviously, to try and get something from the game, but that was the perfect start, yes.
DK: And up next Tuesday, Ipswich U18s.
TS: I'm not sure I'll know any of them until the match will be on. I think a lot of it's changed. But it's just another game for us. I think we've got four or five Tuesday fixtures coming up now in a row. So it's just the start of a really long road. But yeah, we'll be ready to go for that.
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