Despite Martin Allen's arrival at
Cheltenham, the Gloucestershire outfit are still finding life tough in
League One. Last weekend's 3-0 defeat at fellow strugglers Hereford has seen Allen's men slip to second from bottom in the table, five points adrift of safety. However, the players have a chance to bounce back from that disappointing loss at Edgar Street when they travel to
Oldham for tonight's
FA Cup replay after the first encounter ended in a 2-2 draw at Whaddon Road.
Givemefootball.com's Mark Shail spoke exclusively to experienced winger
Scott Murray, who is currently on loan at Cheltenham from neighbours Bristol City, to get his thoughts ahead of tonight's clash at Boundary Park.
YOU MUST HAVE BEEN DISAPPOINTED WITH THE RESULT ON SATURDAY?
Yes, going into the match we thought it was a game that we had a great chance of winning but things didn't go our way. The gaffer was particularly disappointed with how things turned out and rightly so.
BUT YOU'VE GOT AN IMMEDIATE CHANCE TO PUT THINGS RIGHT WITH TONIGHT'S GAME AT OLDHAM?
It's going to be tough and nobody expects us to go up there and get a result but we'll be looking to win the match. We were 2-0 up in the first game and should have gone through so it's frustrating to have been taken to a replay. The reward for the winners is a tie against Morecambe so it's an opportunity for either club to have a chance of reaching the third round - which would be a great achievement for a small club like Cheltenham.
IT'S BEEN A DIFFICULT FEW WEEKS FOR THE CLUB, HASN'T IT?
Yes, we haven't won as many games as we would have liked but from my point of view it's just good to be out there on the pitch because if I was still at Bristol City I would probably be watching the games from the stand. The gaffer has been great with me here and there is a good bunch of lads and we're all working hard to turn things around.
IS SURVIVAL NOW THE AIM THIS SEASON?
Not especially. League One is still a very competitive and congested division and there are a lot of games left with plenty of points to play for. I don't think the manager is aiming purely for survival, he is more ambitious than that and so are the players. If we put a decent run of result together and win four or five games we could find ourselves in the top half of the table.
HOW LONG IS YOUR LOAN SPELL AT CHELTENHAM?
I'm pretty sure it ends on December the 13th..My last game is away against Leyton Orient and I'll have been here for three months then. I'm not entirely sure what is going to happen after that because it's the first time I have ever been out on loan - I don't even know if I'm allowed to stay here any longer after that.
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO WHEN YOU EVENTUALLY HANG UP YOUR BOOTS?
I've started doing my coaching badges and I'm already involved with the Under 14 academy side at Bristol City, so coaching is something I would like to do. I don't see myself as a manager in the future but working with the youngsters is something I enjoy - probably because I'm still a big kid myself!
