Tom Pett says Tuesday night’s game at Portsmouth was his best of the season so far and that he hopes to kick on now in a similar fashion to what he did last season.
“I started the season with a few niggles which I picked up in pre-season and then early in the first few months which was a bit frustrating. Just trying to play through those niggles and not able to play at the same standard I set for myself last year but the last couple of games have been better.
“Tuesday was definitely the most enjoyable game for me so far, I got on the ball a lot, created chances and to get the point at the end was brilliant. There is no point having good games if we are going to lose.
“It has been a similar start to last season really, just trying to get into the swing of things. I was saying to some of the younger boys earlier today, you can learn a lot from sitting on the bench.
“Listening to the gaffer and the management team, hearing what they are saying to everyone. You can look at in two different ways, you can either make the most of being on the bench and use it to learn or you can sit there and sulk. I like to think I have learned a lot from being on the bench and hopefully I can take that forward into my next performances.”
Pett played in a central attacking role against Portsmouth, having played all of last season out on the wing but which does he prefer?
“Before I came to Stevenage I played centrally – that is what I was used to and then last season I played out wide which was something I had to get used to and learn.
“I had a chat at the start of the season about my position with the management team and I told them I prefer to play centrally – you get on the ball more which is what I want but I have no qualms with playing out wide.
“Tuesday was very enjoyable in that sense; I was able to link up with the attackers well and help create opportunities. A lot of the time it depends on the opposition and shape though as to what position I or other players will play.”
With the run of defeats that the team suffered prior to the comeback at Exeter two weeks ago now firmly put to bed, Pett says the team are playing with a lot more confidence and that he hopes it shows tomorrow.
“I think you can see from the performances there is more confidence now. When you are losing games, players are not going to want to get on the ball as much and it becomes a struggle. When you are winning points and doing well, confidence comes back and that will hopefully show in our performance tomorrow.
“There is much more of a buzz about the camp but we aren’t getting ahead of ourselves. At the end of the day, it was only a point on Tuesday night. It doesn’t mean anything if you go and lose your next two games.
“We have worked hard this week to get right for tomorrow and hopefully we will bring back the three points.”