Mark Yates looks ahead to this weekend's Sky Bet League 2 home match versus Southend United.
Cheltenham chief Mark Yates speaking to the media this morning ahead of the weekend's clash with Southend United (3pm):Click here to watch Mark's press call in full on Robins Player.
"The boys have had a couple of days downtime to make sure the excursions of tough games and tough trips don't take their toll. We're back in today and ready to go Saturday. We want to be nice and bright and as competitive as were against Hartlepool and pretty much as we have been for whole month. We played well against Hartlepool and it was probably one of our better performances so we need to do the same on Saturday.
"Hartlepool played a lot of good football against us on Saturday and it was good for us because it made us play as well. Their pitch was good and our pitch isn't quite as good but there will be a bit of pressure on Southend. Having said that they have responded really well after a poor few months in terms of results. They have been excellent in the last couple of games on the television against Oxford and then at the weekend. They had 12 or 13 games without a win so to still be in with a chance of the play-offs shows what a crazy league it is. Southend are up there on merit though and they have some good players including a few loans from higher league clubs. They have had a decent season and will be looking to finish strongly and at least finish in the play-offs but it's up to us to try and upset that on Saturday.
"It has been a strange division so to go for so many games without winning but to not be knocked out of that top seven shows what the league has been about. On the day we know Southend are a good side with good players but so are we and we have to make sure we show that on Saturday.
"The teams right at the top have shown the greatest consistency and have played the best football. The rest have seen some mad stats in some games and we fall into that category too. It's where we are this year and it is something we need to look at but all we can do is concentrate on Southend at home making sure we are ready, knowing that they're about but also playing how we played on Saturday and for most of March.
Cheltenham Town are 6/4 to win this weekend with a 1-0 win worth 11/2 currently. Join Sky Bet using the club's specific URL (www.skybet.com/cheltenham) and you can earn the Robins £10 whilst earning yourself a free matched bet of up to £30! Get involved today here.