Buckle looks ahead to Tuesday night
Pleased after Saturday’s win over Macclesfield, boss Paul Buckle is hoping for more of the same when Cambridge United visit on Tuesday night.
The manager used a 3-4-3 formation to great effect as the Town saw off the Silkmen 4-1 but, in his pre-match press conference, he hinted he’ll keep the U’s guessing at what lies in wait under the Kenilworth Road floodlights.
“Against Macclesfield I felt it needed freshening up at home after the draw and defeat in our first two home games,” Buckle told the media on Monday afternoon.
“I’ve looked at the DVD again of the game and I felt it really worked well. No disrespect to Macclesfield but it was easy. They played in front of us and had a lot of the ball but we’re picked them off – so from that aspect the system worked for us.
“Cambridge is going to be a different game, and another tough game. We’d done a lot of things right since the Telford game and won six points from the last two games and I’m delighted for everyone involved.
“We’ll commit to a system when we finish training on Tuesday. We’ll keep the opposition guessing. We’ve used 433, 343 and 442 so far and it’s up to Cambridge to guess what we’re going to do on Tuesday.”
Jez George’s side arrive at Kenilworth Road looking to end a run of three games without a win after two draws and a defeat in their last two games.
The U’s may include former Hatters Robbie Willmott and Rossi Jarvis in their squad but Buckle is only interested in what his side does on the pitch on Tuesday night.
“They’re a big club, another ex-Football League club who are trying to get back, just like we are,” he said.
“It’ll be exciting and there’s going to be a good atmosphere but let’s save all the smiles and handshakes until after the game – we’ve got to concentrate on winning.
“We need to make Kenilworth Road a fortress and a place the opposition should fear.
“It can be a daunting place to come and Macclesfield found that out on Saturday. The crowd will be loud and behind us and we’ve got to take advantage of that.
“Macclesfield had won their last four and we put that record to bed and, most pleasing of all is that we’ve won well without Ronnie Henry and Jon Shaw – not to mention Garry Richards and Danny Spiller. It’s something we need to keep going.”
Buckle will again be without the four mentioned with Henry serving the last match of a three-game suspension and Shaw the second of a three-match ban.
Defender Janos Kovacs has suffered no ill effects after returning to the side on Saturday following his recovery from a groin injury.