Scunthorpe United manager Andy Butler hailed his players’ battling qualities after a 3-2 comeback victory at Braintree Town.
Braintree struck inside the opening minute through John Akinde but the Iron recovered with Leo Farrell, Oli Ewing and a late Callum Roberts’ penalty sealing all three points.
Speaking to BBC Radio Humberside after the game, Butler was candid about the challenges relegation threatened Braintree posed: “The second half was a fight. Just a battle,”
“It wasn’t going to be free-flowing football against these. It’s a battle and a scrap. You’ve got a big giant of a lad (Akinde) with two runners in behind all the time. He’s a handful.”
Slow starts have been a recurring theme for Scunthorpe this season and Butler admitted it is something the squad must address. “It’s just about concentration. It’s about making sure you switch on from minute one. But at least we had 99 minutes to rectify that mistake.”
On the collective mentality driving results and being on the right side of a number of recent late goals, Butler added: “It wasn’t too long since people were telling us we were not fit enough so it’s nice to turn that one round.
“As I’ve said to the players all along, we play the tempo. You wear them down. You’re going to get opportunities in the final five to ten minutes, which we did.”
Injury concerns after Braintree
Joe Starbuck was forced off in the first half with an ankle injury and Butler confirmed the defender was struggling to walk after the final whistle.
“I’m not sure if he caught it or tweaked it as he landed,” he said. Alfie Beestin also failed to emerge for the second half with a thigh complaint, though Butler stressed he had enough defensive cover to cope, with Jean Belehouan available and back in the squad.
Farrell thriving on loan from Barnsley
Leo Farrell, on loan from Barnsley, now has four goals this month and Butler explained why the young forward has settled so quickly. “He’s one we were chasing for a while,” Butler said. “He’s enjoying football, you can see it in his face. He’s running about, in the middle of goals where he wants to be.”
Butler compared the front man to a young Steve Torpey, joking that he needed to “sharpen his elbows a little bit” and confirmed he would speak to Barnsley about extending the loan deal.
Playoff cushion extended
Roberts’ penalty completed the comeback and left Scunthorpe with a 12-point cushion over Southend United in eighth place, though the Shrimpers have two games in hand.
Butler was measured in his assessment of the playoff picture. “It’s an incredible achievement for the players and the football club,” he said. “We’ve just got to focus on one more game, one more game. If we get a couple more wins under our belt towards the end of the season, I think they’d have to probably win six out of seven, and that makes it very difficult.”
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