Oxford United will be up for the fight on Tuesday evening when they welcome Portsmouth to the Kassam Stadium (7.45pm)
That was the message from Liam Manning as he prepared his side to take on play-off chasing Pompey on the back of a first defeat in his five games in charge.
"The game doesn’t leave your head and I spent much of the weekend racking my brains over the Bolton game, analysing, reflecting and doing the work that we do" he told iFollow. "But at the same time you have to say “right, we have another big game on Tuesday so time to move on to that one”
“We have to make sure we put a few things that weren’t great on Saturday right against Portsmouth so I have spent a lot of time thinking about that.
"The first 30 minutes were the disappointing element. It wasn’t tactical, more about standing up to the fight and showing the intensity that we always need to enable us to go out and perform. We have set standards in the previous games as a collective, a belief in what we are capable of, and I thought the second half was terrific. It was everything I would want a team to be in terms of being on the front foot, albeit we need to focus on the quality at the top end of the pitch and finish the chances.
"It’s about showing the bravery when the game is 0-0, starting well and showing the same intensity for the full 90 minutes.
"Portsmouth are a good side. The Manager has had an immediate impact and they have experience and quality but we have shown against Sheffield Wednesday and Peterborough and in the second half against Bolton that we are a match for them when we are on it. So the key is to be on it for 90, 95 or 100 minutes: whatever it takes.
"Things are still in our control right now and we have to keep it that way but the clock is ticking. So I have challenged the staff, challenged the players, and now we all have to stand up and be counted. We are in a fight so what qualities do we turn up with to win it? We know we have the qualities as players and as people to win the fight in the next five games.”
See the full interview plus the Preview Show in iFollow
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