Striker Ollie Palmer believes the 3-0 defeat at Rochdale on Boxing Day has proved to be a catalyst for our recent upturn in fortunes.
Our team go into Saturday’s match with table-toppers Scunthorpe United at One Call Stadium on a three-match unbeaten streak in Sky Bet League Two.
Recent victories at Cheltenham Town and Exeter City, along with a point gained from a home draw with Burton Albion, have seen us rise to 16th position.
“Our last three results have definitely taken a slight weight off of our shoulders, but we’ve still got a lot of points to pick up, so it’s just the beginning for us.
“We’ve had to work hard and defend well to get points, which is part and parcel of the game.
“Sometimes you’ve got to win slightly ugly, but it can be effective. If you get a goal and hold on to win, then there isn’t anything wrong with that.”
On the Boxing Day defeat at Rochdale, Palmer said: “We kind of took that match on the chin and we said to each other ‘We’ve got to pick ourselves up, this isn’t good enough’.
“[The defeat] really woke everyone up. It was the pinnacle for us to end our bad run and I think we’ve managed to do that now.
“The games come thick and fast over Christmas and that’s what we needed. Fortunately, we’ve come away from it with two wins and a draw.”
He continued: “There were a lot of tired legs out there [at Exeter] and all the boys had to dig deep.
“Matt Rhead put in a fantastic shift upfront, Chris Clements and Anthony Howell both worked hard and had really good games, the back three also worked well together.
“So the boys dug deep and really grinded out a good result.”
On recent changes to our starting formation, Palmer said: “The gaffer had to change things, because we weren’t getting the points.
“But the boys who’ve come in when the squad has been rotated have performed. It’s really good and hopefully, we’ve found a winning formula.”
