Striker looks for more of the same against Cambridge United
Matt Harrold admits he didn’t do himself justice during his loan spell with Saturday’s visitors Cambridge United.
Matt went to Cambridge at the end of January 2015 to get games under his belt after a frustrating spell when he wasn’t being chosen and was struggling to recover from a knee injury.
He said: “In the loan spells I have had during my career I have always tried to go somewhere and make an impact and I’m annoyed with myself that it didn’t happen at Cambridge.
“They were a bit low on confidence when I was there, you could sense that, but I wasn’t 100% either and I struggled. The Cambridge fans certainly didn’t see the best of me.
“But they are a good club with great support and (manager) Shaun Derry has got them playing well. They’ve got some real quality in their squad so we know Saturday’s game is going to be tough.”
Since Rhys Murphy returned to Oldham at the end of his loan spell Matt has been paired with Shamir Fenelon and Roarie Deacon up front but it could be that fit-again Lee Barnard gets the nod tomorrow and Matt believes their partnership could work.
“Definitely – and I know Barney feels the same,” said Matt. “We play together quite a bit in training, we’re both experienced and I think it could go well. It’s up to the Gaffer who he picks, but I’d love to have a run of games with him up front and see if I can get the same understanding I had with Murphs.”
Some poor away results has put extra pressure on Reds to keep their excellent home form going. We go into Saturday’s game having won six of our last seven at the Checkatrade.com Stadium.
“We seem to have found a way of playing here,” said Matt. “We like to keep the crowd on their toes by sometimes leaving it until very late to get the win but we’ve scored goals and played at a good tempo at home.
“We want that to continue obviously but we’re aware we need to address how we play away from home so we can get results away too. The performance at Cambridge in August, when we won 3-0, shows we can do it.
“But the focus is just on Saturday’s game. I know the Gaffer is working hard to try and bring a player or two into the squad and if they do I’m sure they will enjoy being part of the dressing room we have. The spirit and togetherness is brilliant – we’re all desperate to do well for each other and the fans.”
