Another great home win for Hereford on Saturday has given them a lifeline in their season- long relegation battle. The Bulls racked up a 2-1 result over Leyton Orient ahead of arguable their biggest week of the season, which sees them travel to relegation rivals Yeovil tomorrow and Crewe on Saturday.
Steve Guinan was on target once again on Saturday and the 36-year-old’s goals will be crucial if the Bulls are to avoid the drop and stay in League One after last season’s promotion. Givemefootball’s Ian Clarkson spoke exclusively to the Hereford striker to find out his thoughts on the relegation battle ahead, physical football and hat-tricks from inside the six yard box!
IT WAS A VITAL WIN FOR YOU ON SATURDAY BUT THIS REVIVAL STARTED AGAINST OLDHAM WHEN YOUR HAT TRICK INSPIRED A 5-0 HOME WIN DIDN’T IT?
I had a bit of stick as they were all from close range but I was very pleased as it was the sixth hat-trick of my career but my first true one. I scored with my left foot, right foot and a header and the win was a massive confidence boost as they were third at the time and they couldn’t handle us on the day.
THAT WAS FOLLOWED BY BACK TO BACK WINS AT CHELTENHAM AND THEN AT HOME AGAINST LEEDS WASN’T IT?
They were our first back-to-back wins of the season so it was a long time coming. It was a vital win at Cheltenham in possibly the most physical game I have ever played in during my career. Two of our centre halves were injured by half time and then another was off before the end too! I wouldn’t have liked to be one of our centre halves that day as they smashed it up to their strikers and it took me back years. However, we had to be strong and we came back from 2-1 down to win with players playing out of position and that was arguably another turning point for us.
WHY HAS THE TEAM’S FORM IMPROVED?
At the start of the season we were trying to be solid but we weren’t creating much at the top end. It was almost as though the players felt in awe a little bit as we are punching above our weight in this division with clubs such as Leicester and Leeds. However, the gaffer made a conscious decision that we needed to be more attacking and to go for it even though we have kept a good defensive style and now that we have won a few games recently the confidence is starting to flow.
HOW WAS YOUR CONFIDENCE PRIOR TO THIS RUN OF FORM?
It wasn’t too bad as we were only losing games by a solitary goal. We have only been smashed twice – at Bristol Rovers and Oldham – so we knew we could compete. The goals are now coming from all areas of the team rather than just one or two sources and that is making a huge difference as well.
THIS IS A BIG WEEK FOR YOU ISN’T IT?
This is the biggest week of the season for us. We started well enough on Saturday with a win over Orient but we now face two more of our relegation rivals in Yeovil and Crewe. We have nothing to fear as we are playing well and as long as we are still in touch next Saturday then I genuinely believe we can sneak out of the relegation zone. This is definitely a make or break week for us.
