Speaking ahead of Saturday’s home clash with Crawley Town, Dino Maamria believes that he has identified the reason behind Stevenage’s up-and-down form...
Now that the hectic Christmas schedule has passed, Maamria believes the supporters will see a more consistent side take to the pitch each week.
"A week on the back of a loss is always slightly difficult but you have to always trust yourself and always look towards the next game as you can always bounce back.
“I think we have realised is that we haven’t been very good with the Saturday-Tuesday games. It is obvious that our squad is stretched and one or two lads are carrying injuries but to be fair to them, they are putting their bodies on the line to be fair to them and you can never knock them for that.
“It is a trend but hopefully we will break out of it now with the games now coming Saturday-Saturday. It gives you a chance to regroup and gather some momentum to attack the rest of the season.”
As is always the case in January, transfer rumours have been swilling around the club and although Maamria says we are unlikely to see a huge amount of ins-and-outs, he is confident in the squad he has got to work with.
“We know to achieve something we have got to over-achieve. If you look at the ten clubs above us, it tells you all you need to know as their budgets are hugely ahead of us. You see us there just behind them and the clubs that we are on-par with in terms of resources and budget, they are down at the bottom.
"We are sticking to the budget. If we can get an unbelievable cheap loan somewhere, then we will do that. If we can’t we will just crack on and move forward with the same group of players.
“I have got to make sure I recruit smart, develop players, promote from within the Academy and we are doing all those things. We are where we are in the league. Could we be doing better? Of course we could. If we had won last Saturday we would have been four points off third. We didn’t unfortunately but we are there and in a good position now to attack the rest of the season.
“We are where we are and I have got a group of players that I believe in who can achieve great things this season.”
Crawley sit five points behind Stevenage in the Sky Bet League Two table but in good form following back-to-back wins. Dino Maamria says there is no chance that his side will take the opposition lightly.
“It is going to be a difficult game against Crawley, they are on the back of two wins and three clean sheets. Obviously they have got a new manager and they have gone through a difficult patch of results so they have gone back-to-basics and keeping clean sheets first and foremost. That has worked for them.
“They are in a good place. It is not going to be one where people who turn up should expect Crawley to roll over and get beaten. It is not going to happen. They are a club similar to us, similar size and we are both fighting for the same cause. It will be a difficult game and we have got to be right at it to win.”
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