NELSON: "CAMERAS MAKE NO DIFFERENCE"

Keeper says presence of Sky will have no influence on preparation...

Stuart Nelson says he felt the squad were capable of challenging for promotion the moment he first met the players back in pre-season.

Stuart kept a clean sheet on Tuesday evening in the 2-0 win over Northampton Town, and admits the results are more difficult to come by now as opposition teams work harder to find a way to contain the league leaders.

He said: “The results haven’t been as easy to come by as they were at the start of the season when everyone is fresh and no-one really knows much about people.

“We are now getting to the stage where we are playing the `second leg,` it was our second game against Northampton, we have played Barnet twice so we know about each other and it doesn’t become as easy it was but that’s another challenge we face.

“We set ourselves a target at the start of the season and we are still on track for that. From the fans point of view it’s nice to look and know your team is top which is where we have been a lot of the season.

“The target is private and we’ll remain to keep pushing for it. Every now and again you take a knock like we have done in recent weeks, but as long as you bounce back like we did on Tuesday night that’s what matters.

“It hasn’t been a bad month, we have won three, drawn one and lost one and only conceded three so I will take that from now until the end of the season and that will get us to where we want to be.”

Nelson says it makes no difference at all that the Sky cameras will be in attendance on Monday, but says the preparation will remain the same as they go after another three points.

He added: “It’s the same grass, the same stadium than it was on Tuesday. It’s the same bunch of supporters supporting us.

“If there is a few more on TV then great, I would like everyone to watch us play because we are going for promotion and it’s a good time to be at this club and the more people that share in that the better.

“We always go out to win, we always go out with a different game plan for different matches and Monday night will be no different.

“We will have to work hard to get the three points because every team that comes here knows they are playing a team at the top of the league and they set their stall out early and we have to try and break them down and get a result.”

The goalkeeper says the togetherness of the squad was apparent from the moment he arrived at the club, but says this needs to continue as the team are yet to achieve their goals.

He said: “I noticed that from day one when I played that training ground game against Dagenham. I met the boys at half time because I warmed up with the keepers and at the break was the first time we got together as a unit.

“That’s the first time I met them, they listened to what the manager said and they were very receptive and good vibe s come from that. During pre-season there was great morale in the camp and the togetherness that was there from the trip to France they had before I came in.

“It was something special I thought and these are all positives things for a good season. I wanted to be part of this club going in the right direction and I noticed the squad had something.

“Whether the squad took it on to do what we have done remained to be seen but obviously it has so far. So far is the biggest thing because at the end of the day we haven’t done anything yet, we’ve got to keep going and there is quite a long way to go.

“Martin put his stamp on things quickly because when I came in it wasn’t long in to pre-season and they already had the togetherness that you look for in a squad so the France trip was obviously worthwhile.”