Just to build on the original point about the danger of the “we’re safe” messaging.
The last two games; Yeovil away and Sutton at home, actually highlight the issue quite well.
Starting with Yeovil.
Yes, we won 3-0, and you’ll take that every day away from home. But if we’re being honest, the score line flattered us a bit. Yeovil had plenty of the ball, created some decent moments, and on another day they probably score. The difference was simply that we were clinical when our chances came, whereas they weren’t.
That’s great in terms of efficiency, but it didn’t feel like a performance from a team completely on the front foot. It felt more like a team doing enough and relying on quality in key moments.
Then you look at Sutton at home, and the contrast becomes more obvious.
We looked flatter, slower, and far less intense. The urgency just wasn’t there in the same way. Sutton, who are still fighting for points, looked like the side with more desperation at times.
That’s where the messaging point comes in again.
When a team still has something clear to chase; promotion, playoffs, survival, the intensity is naturally higher. Every tackle matters, every second ball matters, every run matters.
But when the narrative around the club becomes “we’re safe now”, it’s very easy for that extra edge to disappear. Not consciously, players aren’t deliberately relaxing, but subconsciously the urgency just drops a notch.
The Yeovil game showed we still have the quality to win games even when not at our best.
The Sutton game showed what can happen when the intensity isn’t quite there.
And that’s why the messaging around the squad matters. In this league the margins are tiny, and if the collective mindset shifts even slightly from “we need to keep pushing” to “job done”, performances can drift.
Hopefully the Sutton result acts as a bit of a reset, because if we play with the same focus we showed earlier in the season, there’s still plenty left to aim for.
