“You want competition and that’s hopefully what we’ve been able to do here…”
Gary Waddock heaped praised on the level of competition within the Cambridge United squad ahead of Saturday’s trip to Morecambe in Sky Bet League One.
Firmly focused on squeezing the best out of the group, the Assistant Head Coach stated how handy registering points away from home would be. Ultimately, it would further enhance a really promising opening couple of months.
“Our home form has been good, we’ve picked up some good points and performances. We’d like to be better and get some points on the road, but overall we’ve been quite pleased with the start.”
Examining their counterparts, Gary underlines that there will be many threats that the U’s will need to contend with. Despite sitting in 23rd, the Shrimps have shown glimpses of fighting their way out of the relegation zone.
“They’ve got a good group of players there and some real threats in their frontline. The manager (Derek Adams) knows the level, he’s a good and experienced manager. It’s going to be a tough game for us.”
Should United wish to improve on last season’s final ranking of 14th, they’ll need to showcase a similar record of dispatching the sides who could find themselves scrapping for safety come the conclusion. No doubt the favourites ahead of the Lancashire clash, it’s the type of game the side want to come out of victorious.
“When we’re playing teams in and around us, on the same level as us, we’d like to perform well firstly, and pick up points against them. That was the key last year, and it’ll be similar this year.”
Perhaps the key ingredient in the U’s positive start is the fact it’s an incredibly tight-knit squad who rubberstamp excellent depth and quality - that was proven as recently as Tuesday evening.
“The players that were here last year did so well, they deserve their opportunity again. You want competition, and that’s hopefully what we’ve been able to do here.
“Everyone wants to play in every game, but Mark (Bonner) has been really good in the way he has rotated the group.
“If you come out of the team, you’re not out of the team for very long, so you have to make sure you’re performing while you’re in it because you have to leave your mark.”